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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, 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 capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth 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. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.