Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days 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 at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions 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 appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. 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 truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.