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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, 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 lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.