Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people 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 Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron 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 the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, 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 seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.