The Reasons Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Shouldn't Come as a Shock.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season 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 almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of 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, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.