Why Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.