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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.