The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered 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 allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. 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.