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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem 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, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.