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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge 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 Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness 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." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.