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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.