🔗 Share this article The Reasons Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock. HEARTS ON FIRE Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score. For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest. CELTIC'S DECLINE Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred. "I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time." NEW CHALLENGER Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool. In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect 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 modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly. MANAGER'S RESPONSE "I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "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 players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.