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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 just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover 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 Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.