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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse 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 experienced by Rangers, 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 Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.