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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.