Why Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games 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 see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover 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 modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter 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. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. 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 Celtic or Rangers can win.