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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.