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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days 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 at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.