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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, 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 campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much 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 their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, 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 Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.