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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured 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 worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion 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 tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.