🔗 Share this article Why Hearts' Historic Title Tilt Isn't as a Shock. JAMBOS BLAZING Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result. Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold. THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred. "No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early." EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure 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 war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system. In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly. COACH'S REACTION "I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.