Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready 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 the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.