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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time 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 here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, 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 fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.