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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division 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 Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.