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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.