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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element 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. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn 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 defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.