Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.