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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. 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 many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.