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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 just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover 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 matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.