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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers 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 entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.