🔗 Share this article Why Hearts' Historic Championship Challenge Isn't as a Surprise. HEARTS ON FIRE Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic 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 seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result. Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest. CELTIC'S SLUMP Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred. "I've never worked harder 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. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early." NEW CHALLENGER Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool. In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result. COACH'S RESPONSE "In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.