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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.