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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. 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 added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.