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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled 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 mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.