The Reasons Hearts' Landmark Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards 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 men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.