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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. 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 combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer 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 might change opinions. 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 strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.