Why Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.