🔗 Share this article Why Heart of Midlothian's Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock. HEARTS ON FIRE Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score. Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest. THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246. "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 anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early." NEW CHALLENGER Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced 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 this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool. In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly. MANAGER'S REACTION "In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.