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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite 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, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.