Why Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, 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. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.