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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 surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear 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 Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure 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 present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific 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 inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion 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 outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.