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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling 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."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start 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 start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness 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." Correct, Derek, 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 Celtic or Rangers can win.