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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number 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 schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite 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 introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, 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 seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.