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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly 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." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.