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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading 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 in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight 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 professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.