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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.