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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents 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 their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.