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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover 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 questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.