The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive 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 discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight 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 Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.