Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga 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 mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.