Rangers vs Hearts at Ibrox this weekend is going to tell us a lot about the season ahead of us.
Rangers are still smarting from the dreadful 1-0 defeat to Livingston last week. It was, by far, Rangers’ worst performance of the season under Steven Gerrard. The poor league form this season has the Gers sitting in sixth place and looking to push up the table once more asap.
They’ll have the chance to lay down a big marker when Hearts arrive at Ibrox on Sunday. Outside of a game against Celtic, this is the next best fixture to bounce back with at this moment in time.
Hearts are absolutely flying under Craig Levein. They’re eight points clear of Rangers and will arrive at Ibrox confident. Should Gerrard’s men manage to topple the current league leaders, a massive wave of confidence will return to Govan. The Livingston defeat would go to the back of everyone’s minds and the positivity will return once more.
Rangers could look forward with confidence should they pick up three points, whilst Hearts will have serious questions asked of them.
On the flip side, however, anything other than a win and we could be in for one of those seasons. No, not as bad as Pedro Caixinha or Mark Warburton’s, but a season of playing catch-up and looking to get some solace from cup competitions.
Judging the start
Judging this start by Gerrard is difficult. In Europe, everything has been perfect. Rangers are flying having qualified for the Europa League and are playing some confident stuff. They’re growing into Europe’s second-tier competition and playing with good verve.
Yet, domestically, can we really say the same? Just three wins out of the opening seven games isn’t an impressive stat. Rangers were seconds away from winning at both Pittodrie and Fir Park. The sad fact is, however, that they didn’t.
To sum up, it’s probably best not to expect too much too soon. Stopping 10-in-a-row remains essential, but whether eight can be stopped is another matter.
The match on Sunday will tell us a lot about where this Gers side are. They’ve passed so many tests this season outside of Celtic and Livingston.If there is to be a title-challenge this season, however, then the club needs to be bouncing back from results like last week.
Hearts will pose a huge challenge and deserve the greatest of respect for their start to the season. Anything other than a win, however, and Rangers’ form won’t be as impressive as we all thought.
On the other side, if Rangers take the points then confidence could shoot back along Edmiston Drive.
