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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches 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 famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.