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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort 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 present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "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 players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.