Hearts' Elliott to lace his boots for a pot shot at Rangers

Elliott's double in a vital 2-1 win helped restore a feeling of invincibility within the Tynecastle squad following their Scottish Cup defeat by St Johnstone seven days previously. As Rangers arrive in Gorgie this weekend, they must be wary of being bowled over by their swaggering hosts.

It is indeed a timely juncture for Elliott, now 27, to establish his credentials in Scotland. The run-in to the title starts now, for three of Hearts' next four fixtures are against the Old Firm.

It remains to be seen whether Kyle's groin problem heals fully, while fellow striker Calum Elliot is suffering knee trouble. Step forward a man with a habit of scoring in monumental games.

Elliott only has four goals to his credit since joining Hearts from Preston North End last August. That is largely attributable to injuries of his own. However, all four are memorable for the results they contributed to.

His first goal in Scotland came in a stirring Edinburgh derby win at Easter Road. That was followed by a score in the 5-0 demolition of Aberdeen. Tuesday night's exertions doubled his tally for the season and effected a come-from- behind win for Jim Jefferies at his former place of work. The manager must be comforted by the realisation that Kyle's absence can be tempered by his former Sunderland colleague.

"It was a great night personally and for the team as well," said Elliott. "It was great to get a result after going in behind at half-time. I think everybody was disappointed at going out of the Cup but we lifted ourselves and bounced back well with a great result.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game. It proved to be that way. In the end we probably deserved to win.

"Kevin Kyle and Rudi Skacel are very important players for us and to miss them is a blow but I think we showed enough the other night to prove we have players to come in and do a good job for us. We got another win, which keeps our run going."

Elliott certainly did his job after replacing Arvydas Novikovas at half-time. He is now odds-on to start against Rangers as Hearts seek the three points which would haul them ever closer to the SPL summit.Their recent sequence of nine wins in ten games - or 11 victories from 14 in all competitions if you cast back to last October - is indeed championship-winning form provided it can be maintained.

"We just need to keep our feet on the ground and keep looking at every game as it comes," continued Elliott. "Tuesday's result opens a big gap between us and the team behind us in fourth place. We feel we can win every game we play and the more games you win add confidence to the squad.

"Everyone's looking forward now to the weekend.

"Because we're doing so well, teams are starting to look at us as a scalp now. We haven't been beaten in a long time and I think teams are wary of that and will try that bit harder when they come up against us. We obviously have to be big enough to stand up to that challenge.

"Over the last few years the Old Firm have always proved to be strong over the course of the season. If we keep going the way we are, there is no reason why we can't stay in touch with them. It's a massive game on Saturday. Probably nobody would expect us to beat Rangers but we're going to go out there full of confidence and give a good account of ourselves."

Coincidentally, the aforementioned 14-game sequence began on the back of a deflating 2-1 defeat by Rangers at Tynecastle. Elliott was precluded by injury that day but has not forgotten the disappointment.

"I watched that game and we lost it late on. It was a blow at the time but I think we've picked ourselves up and come right back at the Old Firm again. If we keep playing the way we are there's no reason we can't stay near them."