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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing 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 count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.