Gary Mackay: The difference came down to a deep-rooted will to win

But, unfortunately for those of you hoping to see me continue last week's war of words, I'm going to stick to the relative humdrum of on-field matters this week.

I'll start by saying I think Hearts were unlucky not to take something against Rangers. We produced a really strong, workmanlike performance but found out to our cost just how a football match can turn so quickly.

At 1-1, Kevin Kyle has a wonderful chance to win it for Hearts. After that miss you're thinking the game's going to finish 1-1. Then after Marian Kello produces a quite magnificent save you're thinking it's definitely 1-1 and we can go home happy. But then Rangers got the break with the free-kick and, from their perspective, it was a wonderful goal from Steven Naismith. It was a soft decision but they made the most of it, and it just shows how things can turn on such small margins.

Admittedly Rangers created a lot of chances - that was highlighted by the fact Kello was named man of the match because he simply had to be on top form. But I have to say I didn't really feel that Rangers would go on and win the game. It looked for all the world like a 1-1 draw to me, but the resilience and the spirit Rangers carry, as they showed to come from 2-0 down at Aberdeen the previous week, is just incredible. I think we have to give them some credit, particularly as it came on the back of a tough Champions League game in midweek. At a club like Rangers, there is a knowledge among their players that to win titles - which they are obviously expected to do - you have to continue to the very last kick of the ball and try and take advantage of any opportunities that come your way, and Naismith did that excellently. Their deep-rooted will to win, even when things look to be drifting away from them, is one of the reasons the Old Firm always finish so far ahead of the rest. With that goal, Naismith also highlighted that wee bit of extra quality that Rangers have over the rest of the teams in the league.

For all that Rangers showed real spirit to get the points, I felt that Hearts had done enough to earn a point. We didn't test their keeper Allan McGregor - whose dad I was sitting next to at the game, incidentally - that much but when you play a 3-5-2 against a Rangers side playing a 4-4-2 with decent width in their team, there was never much chance that our two wide players, David Obua and Craig Thomson, would be allowed to get forward to provide support.

On the whole it was a strong performance from Hearts, but unfortunately not strong enough. Kello was obviously outstanding and I thought Ian Black had an excellent game in midfield, it was one of his best games in a maroon jersey. I think the 3-5-2 really seemed to suit him, as it did one or two others in the team. Rudi Skacel was one of those who benefited from it as he was given a bit of a free role behind the strikers and it paid off when he got his goal. I don't think you would use 3-5-2 all the time. I dare say it was probably only used in an effort to tighten up the defence in the continued absence of our captain, but it's a system that probably could work on certain occasions in the future.

Having steered clear of controversy in this week's column, hopefully my phone won't be as red-hot as it was last week with friends calling to check on my wellbeing after the tirade of abuse aimed in my direction by our club owner. Needless to say, there were also plenty of my pals on the blower to give me a ribbing about the furore caused by our well-publicised spat.

It reminded me of a period in my career when I found myself cast as the boo-boy of the Hearts team.

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