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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to 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, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.