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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, 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 punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.