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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy 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 SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," 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 reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.