Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, 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 massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.