The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although 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 situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight 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 notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change 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. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.