Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.