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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.