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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare 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 reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.