Why Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Shock.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening 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 time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.