Why Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad 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 the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from 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 left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate 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 appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.