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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches 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 influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced 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 this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.