Hearts still coy on top-two chances

THE statistics make impressive reading but it's the attitude that is even more commendable. Hearts may not have the finance of the Old Firm but they have commodities that money can't buy: a togetherness and a team spirit and, with every win that comes their way, they are adding more and more self-belief to the mix.

• In-form Hearts striker Stephen Elliott is relishing Saturday's clash with Rangers. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Having come through a tough test on Tuesday night, where they negotiated a tricky fixture against the last team to beat them in the SPL and did so without key men such as Kevin Kyle and Rudi Skacel, they are brimming with exuberance and looking forward to answering the next set of questions, this time posed by the two sides who usually dominate the top flight.

It is not over-confidence though. While others are seduced by the fact that more than half a season into the league campaign, the Tynecastle side remain within pouncing distance of the Glasgow pair, those within the camp are cautious when it comes to public pronouncements. Within the confines of the dressing-room they are beginning to discuss the possibilities for a side which has won all bar one of their nine away games so far and have now extended their unbeaten run in the league to 10 games.

They underlined their fighting credentials by not only bouncing back from defeat in the Scottish Cup but also from losing the first goal in the first game after that disappointment, away to Kilmarnock on Tuesday night. They overhauled the deficit and eventually snatched the winning goal three minutes from the end of a match which many, including some at the club, feared could be a stumbling block. But this Hearts side is nothing if not resilient.

Decent players within a balanced side, they are the embodiment of determination and they have locked into the realistic possibilities this season could afford them, provided they keep their feet on the ground and their performance levels high.

But every fixture poses a conundrum now. Having set themselves apart from the rest of the league - Tuesday night's win took them 11 points clear of fourth-placed Kilmarnock, with the added cushion of a game in hand - they know there are consequences.

"Because we are doing so well teams will start to look at us as a scalp," said Tuesday night's two-goal hero Stephen Elliott. "We have obviously not been beaten in the league in a long time and teams are wary of that so they are probably going to try that wee bit harder against us, but we have got to be big enough to stand up to that challenge."

Talk of a challenge to the Old Firm dominance has been growing and the longer the current form is maintained, the more credible that chatter becomes. They are currently nestled just five points behind the reigning champions, with the opportunity to close that gap to two on Saturday.Manager Jim Jefferies has admitted that the cluster of games throughout the remainder of this month will go a long way towards making or breaking any bid to split the Old Firm and fixture hurdles don't come any higher in this country than back-to-back showdowns with the two Glasgow sides.

First up it's Rangers, at Tynecastle this weekend, followed by a trip to Celtic Park on Wednesday and it says everything about the mood in the Hearts camp that they are looking ahead to it with anticipation rather than nervous trepidation. It also helps that Lee Wallace is back, with Kyle and Skacel expected to join him in the starting line-up on Saturday.

"Obviously everybody was disappointed going out of the cup but we lifted ourselves up after that and we bounced back well with a terrific result," added Elliott. "They are obviously very important players for us and we missed them but we have shown that we have players who can come in and do a good job and keep our run going.

"We just need to keep our feet on the ground and look at every game as they come. There is a big gap now between us and those behind us so we obviously feel we can win every game we play and the more games you do win that adds to the confidence. Everybody is looking forward to the weekend.

"It's a massive game on Saturday and nobody will probably expect us to beat them but we are going to go out there full of confidence and hopefully give a good account of ourselves."

It is 2008 since Hearts last bested Rangers, but they are buoyed by the fact they have already beaten Celtic at Tynecastle this term and it took two goals in the last 10 minutes to give Rangers the edge when they came to Gorgie at the beginning of October. Losing was bad enough but the nature of it means that Jefferies' men have a score to settle.

"I watched the game and we lost it late on," said Elliott. "That was a blow at the time but we picked ourselves up and we have got right back close to them again and as I said we have just got to keep playing the way we are and then there's no reason why we can't keep winning."

But he knows consistency and an ability to keep grinding out results is key. "Over the last few years the Old Firm have always proved to be strong over the course of a season but if we keep going the way we are going then there is no reason why we can't stay in touch with them."

And then, who knows?