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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.