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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.