Hearts chief drops ‘bizarre’ Rangers verdict after sacking Robbie Neilson
Hearts chief Andrew McKinlay has bemoaned the club’s failure to “lay a glove on” Rangers, after sacking manager Robbie Neilson.
The now-former Tynecastle manager was relieved of his duties on Sunday (9 April) with the Jambos fourth in the SPFL following four-straight losses, but his miserable record against the Light Blues appears to have contributed to his exit.
Rangers have won the last seven meetings between the two sides, including last season’s Scottish Cup final, conceding just one goal in that period.
McKinlay, speaking after Neilson was removed, as per The Scotsman, said: “I’ll tell you what I do think, we should be performing better when we play [the Old Firm], Rangers in particular.
“I’ve seen us have good performances against Celtic. In fact, I would say in the last few weeks our best football was the first half at Celtic Park, where I thought we were dynamic and really got in about them.
“But I haven’t seen us do that against Rangers and I don’t know why. We don’t seem to lay a glove on Rangers for some bizarre reason and we have to start doing that.”
Telling
McKinlay sees Hearts as the third-best team in Scotland so it is perhaps harsh to sack the manager when just two points off an Aberdeen side on a five-game winning streak.
But that is academic now that the move has been made, and the Gers’ superiority in recent seasons is unarguable.
Domestically Rangers have faltered since winning the title under Steven Gerrard, but despite the difficulties under Giovanni van Bronckhorst the Dutchman enjoyed a good record against the Edinburgh side.
Since Michael Beale came in during the World Cup he has had a faultless record against everyone except Celtic, and after the 3-2 defeat at Parkhead on Saturday that is becoming a major source of frustration.
Twice he has seen his side play well enough to take three points in the league and yet he has just one point to show for it, with a disappointing Viaplay Cup final loss sandwiched in the middle.
He will need to start picking up results against the other side of the Old Firm in the near future or he might end up going the way of Neilson, and the 30 April Scottish Cup semi final would be the place to start.
In other Rangers news, two senior Ibrox players are now expected to leave at the end of the season.