The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, 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 reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.