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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo 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 Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed 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 thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, 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 wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.