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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.