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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, 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 defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth 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 modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.