Hearts go from frying pan to the fire

THE trip to Tynecastle last week may not have been enjoyable for Paul le Guen thanks to the despicable events off the pitch, but it will have been extremely instructive. After all, he was able to watch his two main title rivals going toe to toe and if the 90 minutes of action taught him anything, it was that he should not write the capital club off.

That is what many of us had done before the match - and I admit, I was one of those doubters - but when it comes to it, the only thing that mattered was what the players thought and did and, as it says on the t-shirts, they "BELIEVE". We can all say what we like about Vladimir Romanov but that confidence comes from him. The way he bullishly talks up the club and the title aspirations is obviously rubbing off on the players. They will remain very diplomatic and not shout about their chances too much at this stage but last weekend captain Steven Pressley said they had laid down a marker. In the past, Celtic and Rangers have done that week after week, which is why they have been the ones squaring up for the honours, but now it's a three-way tussle - provided Hearts can replicate that desire and belief every week. Just as Rangers struggled against United last weekend, Hearts dropped points to Falkirk but they can't afford to do that too often.

The next test is away to Rangers, on Saturday, and I am sure that, because the match is at Ibrox, people will not give them too much hope of returning with anything. At Tynecastle, the Hearts players feel almost invincible. Falkirk will have dented that view slightly but it can't be construed as permanent damage. During my time there, I remember the 1-1 draw they had against Rangers to maintain the six-point gap. It was a valuable result but afterwards the dressing room was full of disappointed players. Old Firm or not, they expected to win. That's how the mindset of the Hearts players has changed under Romanov. They are now one of the top dogs and think like Old Firm players do. So, they will have been hurting last night and are probably already desperate to make amends.

Paul le Guen will have noticed that spirit as he watched from the stand last weekend and will have to make the most of the fact the match is at Ibrox, as it is the head-to-heads against your title rivals which usually have a large say in the destination of the trophy come May. This will be another opportunity for one team to lay down a marker and, after last week's result, we have all realised how silly it would be to write off Hearts. I still can't see them winning there but I can envisage them taking a point.

So much will depend on how the game starts, though, and the emotions which permeate from the stands. In their first two Premierleague matches of the season, Rangers created umpteen chances but struggled to convert them, even dropping points at home to Dundee United, while Hearts have yet to perform at their best and lack fluency but still took maximum points against Dunfermline and then Celtic. Any team which wins while performing below par has got to be taken seriously because sometimes grinding it out is what secures the title. They couldn't do it yesterday so it will be interesting to see their response.

At the moment, Rangers are the ones blessed with countless attacking options. Buffel, Sionko and Adams are the advance midfield players supporting Prso but there are guys like Burke, Sebo, Boyd and Novo fighting for a place, while new signing Martin is a wonderful player and if he gets a starting position he will be a real handful for any opposition. All these players are capable of carving out openings and when you do that goals will eventually come. At Hearts, the goal-scoring burden is being shouldered by Roman Bednar. It's a responsibility he seems to be thriving on and I feel confident he can live up to my assertion that he is a 20-goals-a-season player but it remains risky to rely so heavily on one guy.

But if Rangers are stronger in attack, Hearts are the more impressive defensively. Even against a very good AEK Athens side they managed to keep them at bay for 88 minutes and that was even after going down to 10 men. The central defensive unit of goalkeeper Gordon, Pressley and ChrisBerra looks solid, and with Neilson and Fyssas there is a real understanding across the entire back line. Rangers look like they will need time for their centre-backs to develop that. That is the weak link.

Hearts prefer the 4-4-2, while Rangers have adopted a 4-2-3-1 system under their new coach and I am keen to see how Valdas Ivanauskas plays this one. However, they line up and despite the Falkirk result, Hearts will "BELIEVE" and Rangers now have to prove they are a match for them, mentally as well as on the Ibrox pitch.

Taken from the Scotsman