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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness 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, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.