The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – 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

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's 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 £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.