Why Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor 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 much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.