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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.