The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, 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 Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, 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.