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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"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 victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.