'We have finally brought success back to Tynecastle' - Daniel Stendel reckons fans saw the real Hearts in win over Rangers

Daniel Stendel believes the Hearts players have finally bought into his style of play after he claimed his first league victory since taking charge of the club seven weeks ago.

Daniel Stendel celebrates as Hearts beat Rangers - his first league win since taking over at Tynecastle

The Gorgie side produced a stirring performance to come from behind and beat title challengers Rangers at Tynecastle with goals from captain Steven Naismith and new signing Liam Boyce.

Hearts remain bottom of the Premiership table but are now just one point behind Hamilton and three adrift of St Mirren in the relegation scrap.

Stendel has taken time to make his presence felt but Hearts have yet to lose since the winter break, a trend he has challenged them to extend for as long as possible.

“After Wednesday’s 0-0 draw at Ross County, I told the players to believe my way is the right way,” said the German coach.

“I can understand it is not so easy when you don’t win games. But we have finally brought success back to Tynecastle.

“In every aspect of our game against Rangers, we were terrific. What was most important was that we still believed we could win when we went behind. In the last ten minutes, the fight from everybody on the pitch was great.

“This was three points we needed in our situation. The players were down after Ross County but we are still unbeaten in 2020 and hopefully that record can last a long time.

“It was a good performance from my team. We had some luck in some situations in that Rangers did not score the second goal. We believed we could change the result and we came back.

"I am very happy that the players got success for their hard work over the last few weeks. It is time we changed the situation in the table.”

Stendel hailed the contribution of Northern Ireland international striker Boyce so soon after his transfer from Burton Albion was completed at the end of the week.

"He came in late on Saturday and did not train with the team,” said Stendel. “We were convinced he is the right player in the right place for us. The goal was great but you can see from the performance in the first half that he improved our game so much.

“He was really tired. After 65 minutes, he asked to be substituted but we could not substitute him or we would have ten players. I said 'You need to stay on.' It was the right decision and this is the reason why we signed him. He has the right personality for our team and can be an important player.”