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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While 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 circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.