Let's not dwell on past, says Gordon ahead of Ibrox visit

STUART BATHGATE

HEARTS’ last game against Rangers, the controversial 2-1 defeat in which Saulius Mikoliunas was sent off, did much to derail the Tynecastle club’s bid to get back into Europe. But, although the events of that evening may still rankle, Craig Gordon believes his team would be mistaken to regard today’s rematch at Ibrox as a chance to exact revenge.

"It’s past now, and I won’t be looking back on it as any form of motivation," the goalkeeper said. "It’s something that happened and I’d like to draw a line under it.

"We need to be controlled in our play. We don’t want to go there fighting and scrapping and maybe get someone sent off.

"We’ve got to go there with cool heads and try and keep the ball in the right areas. If we do that we’ll have a chance of getting a result.

"This is a new game with different circumstances - it could be very nerve-racking for Rangers because they’ve got a lot to play for, so hopefully we can capitalise on that."

As well as losing by a single goal in their last meeting, Hearts also lost narrowly in their previous match at Ibrox this season, and won there last term. That, and their recent win at Parkhead, has convinced John Robertson that his team have a decent chance of picking up three points today.

"We’ve shown in the past month or so at Celtic that we can go to the big stage and play well, and we want to go there and try to win," said the coach, whose side have not won since that 2-0 defeat of the champions. "We were a bit unfortunate to lose 3-2 the last time we went there.

With the championship still in the balance, it might seem that Rangers have more to play for than Hearts. Robertson insisted, though, that his players would be just as determined to win, and that he would not treat any of the remaining fixtures as an end-of-season kickabout.

"I’d be hugely disappointed if Rangers were more motivated than us. Yes, they’re going for the championship, but my players are playing for the fans, for the club, and for their living.

"You can’t win. If we were to beat Rangers then lose to Celtic, or vice versa, I’m sure somebody somewhere would accuse us of lying down somewhere. So maybe the best way is to go out and beat the two of them. We’ll play our strongest team and take it from there. "

Jamie McAllister is back in the squad after learning that a knee problem did not require surgery. By contrast, Marius Kizys, Christophe Berra, Phil Stamp and Kevin McKenna are all out.

Taken from the Scotsman