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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron 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 complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer 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 championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.