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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions 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 look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.