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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.