The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation 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 dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.