In the week Claudio Braga talked up the prospect of Hearts winning a historic title as a “beautiful story” that could be enjoyed “around the world”, it was a reminder of how nightmarish a scenario it would be for others in Scotland. Naturally, supporters of Hibernian are dreading the idea of their Edinburgh neighbours winning a first league title since 1960, in what would be the equivalent of doomsday on Easter Road, but the greater hurt may actually be felt over in Glasgow.
The sense of regret around Rangers if they ultimately fail to take advantage of Celtic squandering their supremacy and lose out to either their Old Firm rivals or the unlikely challengers Hearts would be profound.
Rangers have spent more than £40m across their last two transfer windows, ten times the amount of the current leaders. Celtic may have won 13 of the last 14 titles, but with their outlay, Rangers should have been ready to make the most of the opportunity presented to them in a season where their rivals have sacked two managers and Martin O’Neill has returned for two caretaker spells.
Instead, defeat to leaders Hearts on Monday night may knock Rangers from the title race, leaving them seven points adrift with three games to go. “We like to play from a hunter position and now we want to hunt again,” Danny Rohl said ahead of the trip to Tynecastle, where Hearts have not lost all season.
Rangers can lament the fact they have been playing catch-up since Russell Martin was sacked in October, following a return of one win in their first seven league games. They were 13 points behind Hearts when Rohl arrived, but a resurgence over the winter pulled them to within touching distance. When Rangers came from behind to beat Hearts at Ibrox in February and close the gap to just two points, it seemingly snatched the momentum in the title race. But the story of Rangers’ season has been their inability to capitalise. They immediately dropped points at bottom-club Livingston then blew a two-goal lead at home to Celtic.
The accusation aimed at Rohl’s team is that they have frozen at the pivotal moments, the hunters misfiring when the prey has been in their sights. More recently, even as Hearts have slipped up themselves at Kilmarnock and Livingston and their lead stood at just one point, inconsistency came back to bite Rangers. Last weekend, in their first fixture after the Premiership split, they could have gone top before Hearts went to Hibs and really put the pressure on Derek McInnes and his players. Instead, Rangers lost 3-2 at home to Motherwell. A step forward followed by a shot in the foot.
McInnes still refers to Hearts as the “underdog” in the fight, but the reason they are top is because of their record of turning up to the big occasions. They have already beaten both Rangers and Celtic twice this season. Another couple of victories against the Old Firm and their stranglehold on the title will be broken for the first time since 1985. Fittingly, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen, the last champions outside of Glasgow’s big two, were also the last team to beat Rangers and Celtic five times in a single campaign.
“We’re comfortable with where we are,” McInnes told Rangers legend Ally McCoist on TalkSport this week. “As the weeks go by, there’s more expectation and the pressure can build, but you would never really know. It’s all quite relaxed.”
Tynecastle may be about to host its biggest game in a generation, with Celtic able to go level on points with Hearts with a victory against Hibs at Easter Road on Sunday, but McInnes has seen his side rise to them. “We’ve beaten Celtic twice, beaten Rangers twice, we’ve beaten Hibs three times – the bigger the game, the bigger the performances,” he said. “That’s built the resolve and the strength of mentality.”
Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland referred to the arrival of Rangers as feeling like a cup final. He is not wrong in the sense that it would be down to a two-horse race if Rangers lose – though an away victory would put them back in the mix again. “All the players say we can win, we still have an opportunity,” Rohl said. “Now we need our results and a bit of help, but there is big, big belief.”
“I think every single one of us would be remembered forever,” Braga said when the Portuguese dreamed of what Hearts could achieve. The reality is, Rangers won’t forget either. Except history would be haunting for them.
