The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening 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 checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.