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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning 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, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season 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 joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents 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 modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.