Hearts 2-1 Rangers

NO wages, no win bonuses. Hearts’ skint stars probably celebrated a crucial win by staying home to watch Strictly Come Dancing.

But the Rangers flops they left floundering on the floor had an even more miserable Saturday night.

And they could blame it on the Bougy.

Fit-again Madjid Bougherra knew he’d have to be on his toes from the first whistle against the in-form Jambos.

After all, Walter Smith had warned his players to beware a repeat of last season’s Hearts humbling.

But the big Algerian looked about as comfortable as John Sergeant doing the lambada as the Jambos aces spun him this way and that. Bougy conceded two free-kicks in a frantic opening quarter.

He then lost inspirational Jambos skipper Christophe Berra at BOTH of Bruno Aguiar’s set-pieces.

Magic? No. For Rangers, the defending was just tragic.

The result? Two goals and near ten out of ten displays from ten of Csaba Laszlo’s heroes, though Lee Wallace’s dismissal left Hearts desperately manning the barricades for the last 15 minutes.

But Bougherra was the real villain as Gers again tripped and slipped before dropping points on the road.

He was lucky not to cause a third goal as his bizarre backheel let Hearts charge towards Allan McGregor’s goal. He was also booked by ref Dougie McDonald in a lunchtime performance which Gers fans found hard to swallow.

A fair sprinkling of Bougy’s team-mates were no better as the Jambos simply knocked them out of their stride.

McGregor got a hand to both of Berra’s headers but got neither out the danger area.

Marius Zaliukas poked home the first after 20 minutes and Laryea Kingston ducked in front of Charlie Adam to head the second three minutes later.

Steven Whittaker, who was surprisingly selected ahead of fit-again Sasa Papac, endured a nightmare return to Edinburgh and landed a booking.

Jean-Claude Darcheville huffed and puffed without presenting any threat to rookie keeper Jamie MacDonald.

And Kyle Lafferty again failed to provide ANY return on his £3.25million transfer outlay. The Northern Ireland international is toiling just as badly as Bougherra with the pressures of Old Firm life.

Smith has tried him on the left, on the right and through the middle. But he looked lost in the Gorgie pressure cooker.

Ten points have now been jettisoned by Gers since August’s one-sided win at Celtic Park. The strut and swagger which underpinned that triumph has also been lost along the way.

Yes, Gers could win all three remaining derbies and somehow wrench the title back from the Hoops.

But, on this evidence, it’s far more likely they’ll stumble again before Celtic arrive at Ibrox on December 27.

Smith’s problems are growing by the week and he can’t wait to get Kenny Miller and Steve Davis back.

There was a glaring lack of width and movement on Saturday and Gers struggled to test MacDonald at any stage. Even their goal, scored after 26 minutes, was delivered via the head of Jambos midfielder Christos Karipidis.

He stretched to prevent Kris Boyd reaching Adam’s free-kick only to head into his own net.

Gers had too many passengers and, perhaps most worryingly of all for Smith, seemed to want it LESS than Hearts.

That’s some state of affairs considering the Jambos stars hadn’t even been paid 24 hours earlier. Rather than down tools over their cash crisis, they rolled up their sleeves and swept Gers aside.

Berra led by example with a solid performance in defence and assists for both goals.

Midfield gems Aguiar and Kingston weren’t far behind, while Ruben Palazuelos was a fine foil for the pair.

Hearts’ fifth straight SPL win was a far cry from their pitiful surrender to Celtic just a month ago. It consolidated third place and kept them in pole position for a UEFA Cup place. They are now just seven behind Gers.

The all-action display proved they’ll no longer be intimidated at home.

If Gers are to stage any sort of rearguard action, they need the likes of Bougherra and Lafferty to quickly find their feet.

They cost £5.5m. Another £3m man, Mo Edu, was again on the bench.

Hoops fans claim their boss didn’t get the money. All the Gers boss wants is a return on his outlay.