THE season is only three weeks in and already we can see stories, plot lines and some of the main protagonists of the Premiership campaign emerge.

Undoubtedly the main twist so far has been the rise of Hearts. I must say I’ve been surprised.

Take nothing away from Robbie Neilson, Craig Levein and everyone else behind them who have worked tirelessly in the last year to come up with a wining formula. I saw them a lot last year and even though they won the Championship easily I wondered just how big the gap was between the Scottish second tier and the top flight.

I think so far Hearts have demonstrated that they have built something quite substantial over the last year and they seem to have just added to that.

It is early days but it’s three wins from three for the men from Gorgie which is not straightforward, believe me.

They haven’t had it easy and had to show resolve in the first match against St Johnstone after the Saints came roaring back at them to eventually win 4-3.

It was a similar tale at Dundee after conceding a goal early on and with the tactics not working but they then dug deep to win the game 2-1.

Then Motherwell midweek was fairly straightforward with a 2-0 victory.

It really is quite clever how they have built the team with an experienced spine but with young people in flair positions. Billy King scored the other night and Sam Nicholson, who won the penalty for the opener, can entertain the thousands currently rushing to watch Hearts. Morgaro Gomis and Prince Buaben know each other and have played together at different clubs and that shines through.

If anything this season Hearts have built a squad and they have strengthened. Adam Eckersley being let go raised a few eyebrows but they now have an embarrassment of riches on the left side.

Hearts are one of the biggest clubs in the country. They are now selling out most home games and it’s a positive for Scottish football.

Of course it is early days but their fans looked at the fixtures and thought this isn’t a bad springboard if points can be gathered, which has happened.

With Celtic dropping points and Aberdeen at two games from two, I think there are signs this year’s top flight will have a bit more strength to it.

Both have to test Celtic more if they have designs to close the gap between the champions and the rest. A team somewhere has to do that.

That was the only disappointment from Aberdeen last year in matches against Celtic that despite being unlucky in one or two they didn’t land any punches and the Hoops won them all.

Hearts also played the Parkhead club twice last year in cup competitions and lost. That’s a chasm they have to cross.

John Collins has caught a lot of attention with his comments earlier in the week about the standard of forwards in the Premiership, and it’s obviously ruffled a few feathers.

It’s a truth based on a recent past in my view as Celtic are clearly by far and away better than everyone else. Can Aberdeen and Hearts make it less of a norm? At this stage we don’t know because they haven’t played them yet but it will be interesting when they do.

Neither have anywhere near Celtic’s financial resources. In saying that, look at Kilmarnock the other night. That’s why we go to football to witness surprises and the Rugby Park club claiming a 2-2 draw was certainly one of those.

The teams from Tynecastle and Pittodrie believe they can rack up a few points. Aberdeen play Ronny Deila’s men in early September just before a European group stage kicks off, and that will be intriguing.

Celtic will be very busy on the European front and have games a lot of midweeks. Aberdeen don’t have quite as many demands on their time and I’d like to see how things develop, there could be an opportunity there for the Dons.

For a few years we’ve had the less fashionable clubs making inroads. For a long time Aberdeen underperformed and Dundee were a second-tier team, as were Hearts. It feels like a changing of the guard and you see these clubs coming to the fore.

I’ve always enjoyed the Dundee derby and last year’s New Year’s Day game when the Arabs won 6-2 was fabulous. It was the same the other night at Tannadice and that only helps show how much are top flight has to offer.

The season has started well and long may it continue.