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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.