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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.