Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count 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 at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. 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 physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.