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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, 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 beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look 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 is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.