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

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction 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 investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. 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 good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.