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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger 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 comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively 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 message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.