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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season 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 on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, 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 their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.