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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.