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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, 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 Celtic's 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 Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga 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 combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.