The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.