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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, 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. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.