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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much 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 SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.