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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically 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, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.