THIS will have to stop. Some side must soon put the Edinburgh club in their place before something dreadful happens at Tynecastle.

Old George Foulkes could do himself a terrible mischief if his side continue to confound the sceptics and perhaps even themselves by winning SPL matches.

Like some drunken lord - intoxicated by nothing more than euphoria - Foulkes sang and clapped along to the sounds of victory which climbed way above the Tynecastle roofs and spread over Gorgie and beyond on Saturday.

His co-ordination could do with a bit of fine-tuning but he was entitled to let go at the end of Hearts' eighth successive league win - which equalled the achievement of the club's 1914 side.

And yes,with some subtle fine-tuning of his 2005model, the other George (Burley) might finally have to admit Hearts are championship material.

Even after this declaration of intent - a win secured by grit, belief and no little organisation - Burley wouldn't be drawn on Hearts' chances of winning their first title since 1960, but he must know his team currently are better than the rest.

The secret, however, is maintaining the level of performance and desire until next May and good as he is Burley can't be certain his players will hold out.What is certain is they'll hold out longer than Foulkes' back if he keeps up his level of celebrating.

Still, Foulkes, whose performance was reminiscent of an ancient uncle at a wedding trying to recapture his youth on the dance floor, looked as though he could already see the SPL trophy being delivered to Tynecastle.

I, for one, am not about to puncture his dream because a look around the SPL landscape suggests that apart from Celtic, who have recovered well from a dismal start to their season, Hearts appear to better and stronger than the others.

And Rangers must be included in the pack of also-rans,at least for the time being,but the way things are going maybe also for the duration of the season.

Frankly, they were shocking and appear to be in total disarray. Alex McLeish may wish to dispute this but the evidence is clear to many others and very difficult to ignore.

Rangers are now eight matches into their league campaign yet remain uncertain of their favoured formation and the manager is no closer to knowing which players can be relied on to defend the title properly. Saturday offered them the perfect platform from which to launch their challenge but they didn't even get to the countdown.

There were serious malfunctions at the back and in the middle and all McLeish could do was meddle.He made two changes, one tactical the other enforced, before the break and shuffled players around as though searching for a system that might work.

None did and even though he changed again in the second half McLeish was left trying to explain the loss of what was a crucial match certainly in terms of winning over his doubters if not the title itself.

Rangers, who slipped 11 points behind Hearts, were second best all over the pitch and their failure was perhaps best summed up by the loss of the goal in 14 minutes.

It came from a set-piece, a corner taken by Paul Hartley on Hearts' left, and despite the height advantage Rangers had at the heart of their defence Marvin Andrews allowed Roman Bednar to steal a march and nod the ball into the net.

It wasa simple goal as well as a sloppy one but it was enough to convince Hearts they had the edge and that even without playing their best football they could go on and prove themselves robust and capable in other areas.

Once again Steven Pressley had an excellent match and held his defensive line in place with terrific assistance from Andy Webster, Robbie Neilson, Takis Fyssas and Jamie McAllister, who took over from the Greek when he was injured after half an hour.

Just before that Bednar had hobbled off and could be out for several weeks because of a knee injury. Now we'll see if Burley's fears over the lack of depth in his squad are confirmed.Then again, Stephen Simmons didn't do badly when he took over, although it would be foolish to suggest the loss of Bednar and perhaps Fyssas wouldn't have a damaging effect.

They are crucial to what Burley is trying to do but the disturbing contrast for McLeish is that any of his players could be taken out because of injury and nothing much would change. Rangers would still be slipshod and unconvincing.

The truth is Hearts proved on Saturday that their foreign players are better than those wearing Rangers jerseys and if you don't believe that then just ask how many of them would find places in McLeish's side.

On the latest available evidence Fyssas would make it along with Bednar, Julien Brellier and Samuel Camazzola, who was having a decent afternoon until he ran out of steam late in the match.

Then there is Rudi Skacel, who would walk into Rangers' side.

He didn't score for an eighth successive time but that didn't bother him or Hearts.

The result was all that mattered and from the beginning it was clear Burley's men were ready to meet Rangers full on and make them work for anything they might take.

McLeish started off with three at the back - Andrews, Julien Rodriguez and Sotirios Kyrgiakos - with Hamedakos - with Hamed Namouchi,Fernando Ricksen, Ian Murray, Barry Ferguson and Olivier Bernard strung across

the midfield. Hearts had CamazzolaBrellier, Hartley and Skacel across their middle and they won the day.They were tougher, sharper andmore intelligent in their play, not that the match was ever easy on the eye.

It was a tussle for long spells but Hearts proved themselves tough enough to go the distance while Rangers, despite their manager's tinkering, never looked like winning.

They had appeals for penalties turned down - Ferguson made too much of Hartley's challenge and was booked for diving while Francis Jeffers, who had taken over from the injured Nacho Novo in 19minutes, believed Neilson used a hand to stop his shot right at the end.

Hearts also hada claim rejected.Rodriguez pushed Simmons after 30minutes and that one did look like a penalty to me,but not to referee Kenny Clark,who might have looked at footage by now and realised he got that one wrong.

No matter, Hearts got what they deserved and Rangers must suffer the criticism they certainly deserve after another shambolic performance.They had too many players uncertain of their roles and off form, but they weren't helped by McLeish's constant changing. If he does nothing else in the weeks ahead he must find a system to suit his best players, who ever they maybe.

He has to come up with a secure defensive unit and then go from there but already there are many who believe he should be gone and the more he potters the louder they will become.

Even though he is right to say nothing is won in September the Ibrox boss must understand this was a defeat which ate another chunk from his credibility and that he cannot survive many more like it.

His side were hopeless and lacking in direction on Saturday. They didn't come close to dominating Hearts, who created the better chances and who always seemed to have greater self-belief.

They are determined enough to be champions while Rangers looked exactly like a fifth-placed SPL side.

Unfortunately they now have to face Inter Milan in the Champions League.

Even the great believer, big Marv, might be having serious doubts right now

MAN OF THE MATCH Steven Pressley (Hearts

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION 52% 48

SHOTS ON TARGET 3 2

SHOTS OFF TARGET 5 5

CORNERS 2 2

FOULS CONCEDED 16 28

OFFSIDES 0 3

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Craig Gordon: One decent save otherwise could have been a spectator
6

Robbie Neilson: Dogged display from the right back who got forward regularly. 7

Steven Pressley: Terrific show by the skipper. Handled Prso as well as anybody. 8

Andy Webster: Dovetailed brilliantly with Pressley to handle first Novo then Jeffers. 7

Takis Fyssas: Playing well before picking up knock that forced his withdrawal.

4

Samuel Camazzola: Good battle with Bernard. An energetic performance
6

Julien Brellier: The sitting midfielder had a fine match, breaking up visiting attacks. 7

Paul Hartley: Composed and intelligent display in a packed midfield
8

Rudi Skacel: Came close with a fierce drive and caused the right side of the Rangers defence problems all day.

7

Edgaras Jankauskas: Led the line superbly. Powerful in air and on the deck. 7

Roman Bednar: Injured after Andrews tackle and replaced but great impact when flashing header gave his team the lead.

7

Subs: Stephen Simmons - On for Bednar and did well up front, 6.
Jamie McAllister - Great block on Jeffers, 6.
Lee Wallace - On late for Camazzola to stiffen defence, 3

RANGERS

MAN BY MAN

Ronald Waterreus: No chance with goal but good save from Jankauskas
6

Marvin Andrews: Hard shift against Jankauskas but lost Bednar at goal

6

Julien Rodriguez: Spare man in the back three but sacrificed in a tactical reshuffle 5

Soto Kyrgiakos: Best Rangers defender. Tried to organise those around him

7 Fernando Ricksen: Reverted to right back but did not have usual influence.

5 Hamed Namouchi: Began as wing-back then moved inside. Replaced by Nieto.

5 Barry Ferguson: Booked for a dive which summed up his frustration. Tried to gee up team but wasn't the influence he can be. 6 Ian Murray: Ran himself into the ground and no doubting his commitment

6

Olivier Bernard: Missed a good header. Better at a wing back than full back

5

Nacho Novo: Not his day. Rarely involved then forced off with an ankle injury

3

Dado Prso: Tried manfully but Pressley an immovable force. Couldn't get on the end of a chance.

6

Subs: Francis Jeffers - On for Novo and denied by Neilson hand in the last minute, 3. Thomas Buffel - Injected much-needed craft, 6. Federico Nieto - On with 17 minutes left and missed one chance, 5

MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE GAME

Bednar injury. Had he stayed on Rangers might have lost more

Taken from the Daily Record