The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Surprise.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men 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 forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.