Defeat at Ibrox is Rixy business

GIVEN that his predecessor was given the boot by Vladimir Romanov after dropping just four points in ten games, Hearts boss Graham Rix could be entitled to feel somewhat concerned about his own position.

With the Lithuanian having dispensed with the services of Burley despite the fact he had guided the Jambos to the top of the SPL on the back of an unbeaten start to the season, speculation is rife as to when his patience with Rix will snap.

The former Chelsea coach has been in charge for five games during which time his team have shipped no fewer than nine points, Saturday's insipid performance against Rangers posing more questions than answers for the Englishman.

The 1-0 win for the hosts was far more comfortable than the scoreline suggests and while it was Rix's first defeat since taking over the Gorgie hot seat, the team's level of performance since his arrival is what's causing most concern among the supporters.

With the exception of their 2-1 victory at home to relegation-haunted Livingston - Rix's sole win - Hearts have failed to reach anything like the form they showed prior to his arrival. When Romanov offered him the chance to take up the reins at Tynecastle, it was an opportunity he could not turn down.

Unfortunately for him comparisons were always going to be made with Burley, a man who appeared to have the Midas touch in transforming the Jambos into creditable championship contenders.

The spotlight has been on the 48-year-old ever since his controversial appointment and the poor display at Ibrox has done nothing to deflect the scrutiny.

The pressure on the former England internationalist appears to be growing by the week, with disgruntled fans becoming increasingly frustrated at their side's form.

With Romanov having a propensity for hiring and firing, one can only wonder what was going through his mind as he watched Hearts fail to impose themselves on what, despite their Champions League heroics, is still an ordinary Rangers side.

If Rix is feeling the strain he is doing a good job of hiding it and he claimed after the Ibrox defeat that he has every faith he will be given time to get things right. "It was a disappointing performance and for some reason we seemed to have lost a little bit of self belief and confidence," he said.

"It's a big disappointment for me that on a big stage like Ibrox, we didn't do ourselves justice.

"I don't really feel under pressure and am confident I'll turn this around."

For the fourth time in five games, Hearts failed to start a match with any real urgency.

Such a problem could have been forgiven at Pittodrie in Rix's first game, while a trip to Motherwel is never the easiest fixture. However, to struggle at home to Inverness and then be equally ineffective at Ibrox suggests there is something rather more fundamentally wrong at the moment.

Worryingly for supporters who had been dreaming of championship glory during the first few months of the campaign, the head coach seems no nearer to finding a solution to the conundrum.

"We spoke before the game about being positive, as we do every week. But we never came out of the traps," he said.

"The lads kept going right to the end and showed spirt and worked hard but we have better quality than we showed on Saturday. The way we are starting games does worry me. The one game we did win we got off to a flyer in the first 20 minutes. The things which were said in the days leading up to that game and in the dressing-room beforehand are the same things that are said week in, week out."

Rangers could have been in front before Peter Lovenkrands' 35th-minute opener, Marvin Andrews somehow missing from two yards out and Craig Gordon brilliantly tipping over Hamed Namouchi's header.

It was really all very predictable, the manner of the performance reminiscent of the days when Hearts used to travel to Ibrox and Parkhead very much in hope rather than expectation.

For whatever reason, confidence seems to be in short supply and that is something Rix will have to work on if the Jambos' title tilt isn't to disintegrate before the New Year hangovers have cleared.

"I want to win the games and am working hard with the players," said the Hearts boss, who now must prepare for two homes games against Falkirk and Celtic.

"I don't know what it is. We spoke a little bit about it after the match, but if the guys don't have confidence and self belief when they are near the top of the league, when are they going to have it?

"Because of their great start to the season and the unbeaten run they had and finding themselves at the top of the league there is pressure there, too. They are playing for a big club at the top of the league. There is pressure that goes with that and they have to be able to handle that."

Deividas Cesnauskis was fortunate to be given another chance after a poor display against Inverness and the Lithuanian should have done better six minutes before Rangers broke the deadlock. A fine pass out of defence from Robbie Neilson had the midfielder scampering towards the home back line but with Paul Hartley and Roman Bednar in ideal position for a pass he opted to go for glory and his weak shot posed little trouble for Ronald Wattereus.

Apart from an earlier header from Steven Pressley, there were precious few glimpses of goal for the visitors.

Their afternoon went from bad to worse as the match drew to a close, substitute Saulius Mikoliunas being shown a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Barry Ferguson.

The decision by Mike McCurry seemed harsh and perhaps the officials still hadn't forgiven the young Lithuanian for his barge on linesman Andy Davis during the game against the Ibrox outfit at Tynecastle in March.

The damage for the Jambos could have been worse, Celtic failing to open up a six-point lead after only drawing in Inverness yesterday. Rix, though, can't rely on such favours all the time and will have to address the problems currently afflicting his team sooner rather than later. Confident he has the backing of the squad, he said: "You'll need to speak to the players to see if I am saying the right things or doing the right things. But I think you'll find they'll say positive things about the situation."

Whether the same goes for Mr Romanov remains to be seen.

Taken from the Scotsman