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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.