The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be 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. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.