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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.