The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling 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

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally 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 operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.