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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.