The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"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 anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents 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 modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.