🔗 Share this article Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock. JAMBOS BLAZING Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score. For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest. CELTIC'S SLUMP 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 their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred. "I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time." NEW CHALLENGER Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected 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 obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool. In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly. MANAGER'S RESPONSE "In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. 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 definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.