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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much 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 resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed 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 levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.