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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.