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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past four decades, 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 process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight 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 wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. 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 truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.