Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers 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 Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.