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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views 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 definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.