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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.