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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.