The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.