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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.