In the week Claudio Braga spoke of Hearts winning a historic title as a "beautiful story" that could be celebrated "around the world," it underscored how nightmarish that scenario would be for others in Scotland. Naturally, Hibernian fans dread their Edinburgh rivals clinching a first league crown since 1960, akin to doomsday at Easter Road. Yet the greater anguish may reside in Glasgow.
Rangers' Regret
The sense of missed opportunity for Rangers, should they fail to capitalise on Celtic's slip and lose out to either their Old Firm foes or the unlikely challengers Hearts, would be profound. Rangers have invested over £40 million across the last two transfer windows, ten times the outlay of the current leaders. Celtic may have won 13 of the last 14 titles, but given their spending, Rangers should have been poised to exploit a season where their rivals sacked two managers and Martin O'Neill returned for two caretaker spells.
Instead, defeat to Hearts on Monday night could knock Rangers out of the title race, leaving them seven points adrift with three games remaining. "We like to play from a hunter position and now we want to hunt again," Danny Rohl said ahead of the trip to Tynecastle, where Hearts remain unbeaten this season.
Inconsistent Campaign
Rangers have been playing catch-up since Russell Martin was sacked in October, following just one win in their first seven league games. They trailed Hearts by 13 points when Rohl arrived, but a winter resurgence brought them within touching distance. When Rangers came from behind to beat Hearts in February, cutting the gap to two points, momentum seemed theirs. Yet inconsistency has plagued them: they immediately dropped points at bottom-club Livingston and squandered a two-goal lead at home to Celtic.
The criticism of Rohl's team is that they have frozen at crucial moments, misfiring when the prey was in sight. Even as Hearts slipped up at Kilmarnock and Livingston, narrowing their lead to one point, Rangers faltered. Last weekend, they could have gone top before Hearts visited Hibs, but instead lost 3-2 at home to Motherwell.
Hearts' Big-Game Pedigree
Derek McInnes still calls Hearts the "underdog," but their top position stems from rising to big occasions. They have beaten both Rangers and Celtic twice this season. Another pair of victories over the Old Firm would break their stranglehold on the title for the first time since 1985. Appropriately, Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen, the last champions outside Glasgow's big two, were also the last to beat Rangers and Celtic five times in a single campaign.
"We're comfortable with where we are," McInnes told TalkSport. "As the weeks go by, expectation grows and pressure builds, but you'd never know. It's all quite relaxed."
Tynecastle Showdown
Tynecastle may host its biggest game in a generation, with Celtic able to go level on points with Hearts by beating Hibs on Sunday. But McInnes's side has risen to challenges. "We've beaten Celtic twice, Rangers twice, Hibs three times; the bigger the game, the bigger the performances," he said. "That's built resolve and mental strength."
Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland compared the Rangers clash to a cup final. Indeed, a Rangers loss would leave a two-horse race, though an away win would revive their hopes. "All the players say we can win; we still have an opportunity," Rohl said. "Now we need results and a bit of help, but there is big, big belief."
"Every single one of us would be remembered forever," Braga mused about Hearts' potential achievement. The reality is Rangers won't forget either, but for them, history would be haunting.
