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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just 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 ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, 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 tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.