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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number 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 schedule to find out how many days 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 reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.