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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "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 experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players 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 entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded 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 might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.