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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.