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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, 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 sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.