Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"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 present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, 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. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.