Why Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis 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 modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.