Reformed Rangers send out an ominous warning

AFTER Hearts beat Celtic a fortnight ago, their captain Steven Pressley said the victory sent out a message. Yesterday at Ibrox, it was Rangers' turn to be the ones sending a message, which is that they are going to be up there battling at the top this season.

Rangers absolutely deserved to win the match. They had a decent first half and a very good second half while Hearts, despite bags of effort, had an off day.

The first thing I noticed was that both managers had sent out interesting formations which were a variation from the norm. The Rangers changes were all about team selection, and bringing in Chris Burke and Lee Martin to play on the wings gave them the full width of the Ibrox pitch to create chances, which they duly did. Kris Boyd at first played deeper behind Dado Prso but in the second half they switched to 4-4-2 with Boyd alongside Prso. The results of that move were quick to come, with two goals for the Scot within a few minutes of the restart.

I felt Hearts were sadly lacking in creativity, though you could not fault their effort. They had their normal back four and their two midfielders, Bruno Aguiar and Julien Brellier, in their usual places, but then had Saulius Mikoliunas in midfield and three men up front with Roman Bednar on the left, Edgar Jankauskas through the middle and Calum Elliot on the right. That was presumably to combat Rangers' 4-2-3-1 formation, and while some people might think it was a positive move to switch from the normal 4-4-2, I just thought it sent out a signal that Hearts had come to Ibrox to play a containing game. Over the last year they have gone to play the Old Firm with genuine optimism to have a go at them, and I think the fans would have expected more of the same. No doubt Valdas Ivanauskas will explain his reasons for the change, but I felt it gave Rangers a wee psychological boost.

They did negate Rangers for long periods but their forward play suffered. Mikoliunas, for instance, did well defensively in his unusual role but did not get forward as much as he usually does. That meant there was no support for the Hearts strikers, so it was a tactic which, though it worked for spells, had to be changed after Kris Boyd's two goals, by which time the game was almost finished as a contest.

The disappointing thing for Hearts fans will be the lack of chances. There were a couple of bobbing balls in the Rangers box and a couple of half-chances, but I can't recall a clear-cut opportunity for Hearts in the first half, apart from Aguiar's 25-yard free kick which Lionel Letizi tipped over.

In the second half, Boyd's early goals allowed Rangers to relax and play some very good football. There is no doubt the first goal was a penalty as Robbie Neilson lunged in the box. It was needless, and of course he went on to get sent off as Hearts lost their discipline.

We have all been singing Neilson's praises over the last year or so, but yesterday just wasn't his day, especially as Martin gave him such a hard time on the wing. That happens in football, but he will be disappointed that he got frustrated and ended up walking that lonely road down the tunnel. It rubbed salt into the wound for Hearts, and though it had no bearing on the result his red card will mean he will miss more matches.

As for Rangers' second goal, there will surely be an inquest by Ivanauskas and the players as to why the most prolific scorer in Scotland in recent times was allowed to find such a space on the six-yard line. Boyd is quite brilliant at finding and creating space for himself, but he should never have been allowed to find a yard or two where he could take full advantage of a fine cross from Martin. Standing on his own with nobody marking him, he was never going to miss - Hearts' normally formidable defensive unit went to sleep and paid the penalty.

Boyd, Burke and Martin were outstanding for Rangers, but I think their most influential man was Prso. He led the line superbly and came out on top in his private battle with Steven Pressley, though I felt referee Kenny Clark's booking of Pressley was unnecessary. The Hearts captain was having an enjoyable tussle with Prso and sometimes the referee should just let grown men get on with it as there was nothing nasty happening.

The only bright point for Hearts on a miserable day was the introduction of Paul Hartley for the last 20 minutes. They need him after this mediocre performance.

Taken from the Scotsman