Why a shock Hearts title would hurt Rangers most of all

Rangers can lament the fact they have been playing catch-up since Russell Martin was sacked in October, following a return of one win in their first seven league games. They were 13 points behind Hearts when Rohl arrived but a resurgence over the winter pulled themselves to within touching distance. When Rangers came from behind to beat Hearts at Ibrox in February to close the gap to just two points it seemingly snatched the momentum in the title race. But the story of Rangers' season has been their inability to capitalise. They immediately dropped points at bottom-club Livingston then blew a two-goal lead at home to Celtic.

The accusation aimed at Rohl’s team is that they have frozen at the pivotal moments, the hunters misfiring when the prey has been in their sights. More recently, even as Hearts have slipped up themselves at Kilmarnock and Livingston and their lead stood at just one point, inconsistency came back to bite Rangers. Last weekend, in their first fixture after the Premiership split, they could have gone top before Hearts went to Hibs and really put the pressure on Derek McInnes and his players. Instead, Rangers lost 3-2 at home to Motherwell. A step forward followed by a shot in the foot.

McInnes still refers to Hearts as the “underdog” in the fight but the reason they are top is because of their record of turning up to the big occasions. They have already beaten both Rangers and Celtic twice this season. Another couple of victories against the Old Firm and their stranglehold of the title will be broken for the first time since 1985. Fittingly, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen, the last champions outside of Glasgow's big two, were also the last team to beat Rangers and Celtic five times in a single campaign.

“We’re comfortable with where we are,” McInnes told Rangers legend Ally McCoist on TalkSport this week. “As the weeks go by there’s more expectation and the pressure can build but you would never really know. It's all quite relaxed.”

Hearts took another step closer to a historic league title with a win over nine-man Hibs last weekend (PA)

Tynecastle may be about to host its biggest game in a generation, with Celtic able to go level on points with Hearts with a victory against Hibs at Easter Road on Sunday, but McInnes has seen his side rise to them. “We’ve beaten Celtic twice, beaten Rangers twice, we’ve beaten Hibs three times, the bigger the game the bigger the performances,” he said. “That’s built the resolve and the strength of mentality.”

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland referred to the arrival of Rangers as feeling like a cup final. He is not wrong in the sense that it would be down to a two-horse race if Rangers lose - though an away victory would put them back in the mix again. “All the players say we can win, we still have an opportunity,” Rohl said. “Now we need our results and a bit of help, but there is big, big belief.”

"I think every single one of us would be remembered forever,” Braga said when the Portuguese dreamed of what Hearts could achieve. The reality is Rangers won’t forget either. Except history would be haunting for them.