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

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke 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 make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.