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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.