ECK MUST CUT OUT TINKERING TO KEEP TITLE DREAMS ALIVE

LACK of confidence and continuity are threatening to undermine Rangers' championship credentials.

The 1-0 loss at Tynecastle was yet another blow to Alex McLeish's men and has left them trailing leaders Hearts bya massive11 points.

This result confirmed Hearts as serious title challengers and while the match was always going to bea close call,I believe the home side seized their opportunity after discovering Rangers' line-up.

All the planning would have been done throughout the week and it must have come as a surprise to Jambos boss George Burley when he realised Rangers had drafted in an extra defender and adopted a 5-3-2 system.

Alex doesn't normally play like that so I'm sure Hearts' players would have taken this as a positive sign,a clear indication Rangers were worried.

The decision,as Alex admitted later,was taken because his team are struggling with their confidence,particularly defensively.

That was abundantly clear in the early stages against Hearts when they conceded another goal from a set-piece.

I can understand managers changing their systems to cater for specific teams.It's something that happens a lot when our sides play in Europe.

But continually changing their system and personnel has led to big problems for Rangers.Alex is struggling to find his best 11and while there is so much chopping and changing going on the confidence level of certain squad members is plummeting.

Having been in management myself,I always think you should have your best team in mind from the first day of the season.

If it works,stick with it and if it doesn't then maybe one or two changes are needed to get everything spot on.

If you go through the SPL,every team bar Rangers is relatively settled - even the ones at the bottom of the league.

Continuity is the key because when you have midfielders and central defenders playing at full-back and others getting moved around a lot it makes life difficult.

Players love to play every week but are not so keen on being shifted to areas where they aren't comfortable.

If results go your way,fine.When they don't , confidence drops and taking points can become a real problem.

Rangers are toiling at the moment but the title race is far from over and there is still away back.

Their problems need to be sorted out quickly but Rangers are certainly capable of going ona decent run if Alex can get a settled team playing with confidence.

The phone-ins have been jammed with fans calling for the manager's head but I think they are over-reacting.

Supporters are not convincedbywhat is happening at Ibrox and they are entitled to their opinion but Alex deserves to be cut a little bit of slack.

Results like this can't goon forever but he did help to get the club into the Champions League and he did get the campaign off to a great start against Porto.

Rangers went into that match on a real downer after drawing at Falkirk and losing to Hibs and there were similar calls for Alex to go.However,his team produced a quite stunning victory.

It will take an even greater effort if Rangers are to take anything against Inter Milan on Wednesday but the fact everybody expects them to get thumped might help.

Domestically,the big question everyone is asking is whether front-runners Hearts can sustain their title challenge.

There is nothing to suggest they can't and after beating Rangers confidence at Tynecastle will be sky high.

One thing that impressed me is their physical presence.Hearts are a big strong team and can be very imposing.

Their back four was outstanding on Saturday and they remind me of Celtic under Martin O'Neill.

They were able to muscle teams off the pitch and,under the impressive Burley, Hearts might be capable of doing the same.

Their biggest challenge looks likely to come from Parkhead.Celtic are still trying to find their feet after a terrible start but are getting there slowly and surely.

The media spotlight has been focusing mainly on Rangers and Hearts and that has allowed Gordon Strachan to go about his business with the minimum of fuss.

Chris Sutton and Didier Agathe are now back in the fold after injury and that is a bonus for Strachan.

Celtic are still not firing on all cylinders and are missing a lot of chances but they are still winning matches while Rangers continue to drop points

Taken from the Daily Record