Why Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland 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 comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.