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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much 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 their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.