Hearts will be test of work in progress . . .

Then again, when did commonsense attach itself to football, and the huge demands of Old Firm supporters in particular?

No question, the Rangers fans now regard this contest as potentially crucial to their chances of wresting back the bragging rights they lost comprehensively to Celtic last time round. And this after just three matches of the fledgling campaign - evidence, were it required, of the fraught nature of life on the south side and in the east end of the city, where events have not been going as planned or as expected since the business began at the end of July.

Having found themselves out of the top two last season for the first time since 1988, the pressure on Rangers is the greater and the fact that Hearts edged them out of a Champions League spot only serves to increase intensity.

Logic dictates the new manager, Paul Le Guen, is in the process of shaping his side - a case of work in progress on a strategy involving a collection of players imported from Europe, in particular from his homeland France, and the scattering left behind by his predecessor Alex McLeish who were deemed to be worthy.

However, logic isn't adhesive when it tries to stick to football.

Presently, Rangers are two points behind Hearts and trail Celtic by one. For all that others have started brightly enough, most notably Falkirk and St Mirren, it is the collective value of Ibrox and Parkhead to a public playing pitch the championship will be won by either of the Old Firm clubs or Hearts.

Even then, for all the bluster of the Tynecastle lot's owner, Vladimir Romanov, they are unlikely to repeat the staying power that characterised their last campaign. Yet, this early, they are dangerous opponents, as Celtic again discovered the other week.

Hearts will turn up believing they are capable of extending their lead over Rangers to five points - an advantage that in no shape or form would be insurmountable, but in the event would allow them an adrenaline shot and, psychologically, would place Rangers on the back foot, temporarily at least.

Although Le Guen's restructured side started brightly enough against Motherwell at Fir Park, the defence has been leaking goals since and the sloppiness that was evident last

Sunday against Dunfermline will, if repeated, be severely punished.

Undoubtedly, Rangers will tighten as a defensive unit as their season progresses. But the long game does not predominate in the thinking of their support and anything less than a win tomorrow will have them questioning Le Guen's tactics, impact, and ultimate strategy.

So far, he has elected to begin without Kris Boyd, who was suspended for the opening game at Motherwell, but although Rangers have been creating chances subsequently they have not capitalised and in Boyd they have the country's most natural and gifted striker.

He has already made it clear he is less than content coming on from the substitutes' bench. Le Guen does not come across as a character to be swayed by the opinions of a player but he must be aware Rangers would, surely, have collected more than four points to date had the predatory skills of Boyd been involved more regularly.

Similarly, Chris Burke must be nudging towards a start. The two appeared after an hour at Dunfermline but by then the pattern had been more or less established and they were short on time to alter it.

If Boyd, at least, does not start tomorrow there will be murmurings of discontent, and murmurs at Ibrox can and do quickly grow into a groundswell of displeasure.

Last time the two sides met, at the end of last season, Rangers won but by then the points were meaningless, Hearts having already claimed second place and their shot at Europe's elite competition.

The fact that they are now highly unlikely to make the group stages is an irrelevance as well as a grand and continuing nuisance to Rangers and their support who would have fancied their chances over two legs against AEK Athens.

They'll have to content themselves with a pre-qualifying tie to enter the group stages of the secondary tournament, the Uefa Cup, and time is closing in on a side that will have to form a cohesive unit if they are to make any decent impact on Europe.

Hearts will provide as powerful an examination of their progress - or lack of it - as they could wish for. So plenty will be riding on events tomorrow - points, a touch of prestige, and an inkling of standards required for the grander stage.

Sure, the season is in its infancy but even this early the stakes are significant.

Taken from Evening Times