Why Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.