Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division 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 matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.