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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad 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 football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.