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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season 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 entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions 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 certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.