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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change 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 given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.