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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.