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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.