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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.