The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect 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 summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.