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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole 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 top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.