Hearts chase history as the Rangers reach a critical point

On Friday morning, Rohl, Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande said facing Hart, the three adopted bears had a full load of fights.

Tynecastle were going to be “on fire”, manager said, contest was “do or die” Ruskin, Diomonde said a must win match. Rohl said his side face four cup finals between now and the end of the season and will be ready for whatever the league leaders and their home crowd throw at them.

The problem here is Rohl said the same thing a week ago in the build-up to the Motherwell game. There were five cup finals then.

In his preview of that match, he insisted Rangers needed to keep faith behind four straight wins and 15 goals. “We have to run, we have to fight,” he said of Motherwell’s imminent arrival at Ibrox. “(We) need to let the opposition know what it’s like to be at Ibrox at the moment.”

When Motherwell passed their confusion to go 2-0 up in the first half, everyone could see how it felt at Ibrox. Loud and angry.

The Rangers weren’t just outplayed, they were outthought. Motherwell had a surgical precision about them. They are a class above a Rangers team that has spent £40million in less than 12 months – almost double Motherwell’s entire turnover over three seasons combined.

For the third time in seven games Rangers fell behind by two goals – they drew 2-2 against Livingston, beat Falkirk 6-3 but were caught by Motherwell, eventually losing 3-2. Can a side with such weaknesses in its make-up be trusted to win on Monday?

This Rangers team has a soft underbelly. They can deliver really good stuff and pockets of purpose in the cluster, but their inauspicious moments have put them in last-chance salons.

On Friday, Rohl and Raskin spoke about the character they showed to fight back from near-death experiences under Russell Martin, the courage to build themselves as competitors. But their hopes of going to Edinburgh hang by a thread.

Of course there is pressure all around. pile of With their backs against the wall, Rangers will surely come out swinging. Hearts have to hold their nerve. Celtic finding a winner against Hibs set things up perfectly for Tynecastle.

Rohl says he knows what to expect from Hart and their supporters, but does he really? Does anyone? Expecting the unexpected has been a wise policy this season. So, we move into fun and mayhem, all the while pulses quicken.