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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

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 something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "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 endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.