The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top 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 result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.