The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga 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 combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.