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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.