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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.