Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, 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 the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.