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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, 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, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.