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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions 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 look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth 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.