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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled 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. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.