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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.