🔗 Share this article Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Shouldn't Come as a Shock. HEARTS ON FIRE Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result. Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear 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 iron is at its weakest. CELTIC'S SLUMP Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246. "No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media 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 levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time." EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system. 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 Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly. MANAGER'S RESPONSE "In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.