Hearts and Rangers: Steamy windows, stand tremors, a cauldron of disgust and noise from the Gorgie boys
Tynecastle will be rocking come kick-off on Wednesday night
The Tynecastle Arms windows will steam up as the pub bulges with excited locals. The Gorgie Ultras will take over the streets outside in a cloud of smoke, flares and pyrotechnic lights. The stands of Tynecastle Park will reverberate with ear-piercing noise. Inside, a cauldron of disgust will await Rangers. If you thought Gorgie was rocking against the Ibrox side back in May, you are about to witness another level of hostility.
Heart of Midlothian supporters don’t take too kindly to players leaving for any of the Glasgow clubs. When a manager joins them, the disdain only multiplies. As Derek McInnes will find out on Wednesday evening. Hearts host Rangers for the first time since he left for Ibrox in June, just weeks after leading the Edinburgh club to within minutes of a historic Premiership title at Celtic Park. The fallout from that day continues, overseen by Police Scotland, but football never stops.
It remains to be seen whether the injured Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin travel to their old place of work. They know home fans have no wish to see them back, other than perhaps to bawl a few expletives in their direction. Hearts against Rangers was always a high-octane fixture on the Scottish football calendar. McInnes, Shankland and Devlin swapping Tynecastle for Ibrox in the summer raises the intensity like never before.
All three were integral members of last year’s title challenge and felt the devastation when it collapsed in Glasgow’s east end. They chose not to stay and rebuild, they chose to decamp. Hearts fans won’t forget those decisions. It is a subplot which simply adds to the anticipation for Wednesday’s game. The Tynecastle support created a raucous din for Hearts’ 2-1 win over Rangers in May and will need to generate the same again to help their injury-ravaged team.
“I think so. I think the fans know the circumstances we are in,” says Wouter Vrancken, McInnes’ successor in the Hearts managerial chair, speaking exclusively to the Edinburgh News. “It’s up to us to give the fans a spark and show we want to go for it. Then they will back us. It always starts with us giving the reason for fans to back us. I have no doubt they will be there to give us extra energy.”
Vrancken knows the significance of this game. Even with Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against city rivals Hibs on the horizon, not forgetting next week’s UEFA Conference League tie against FC Thun in Switzerland, this is the biggest of big games for Hearts. They are third in the Premiership, four points behind second-placed Rangers and eight behind leaders Celtic. A positive result would keep them in touch with those above.
Vrancken won’t mess around with his team. Eight players are injured so he doesn’t have much scope for rotation. Expect winger Calvin Miller reinstated after scoring as a substitute in Sunday’s win at Motherwell. Midfielder Laurent Mendy could also be recalled. “It’s obvious that I have strong belief in Calvin and he knows it. He needs a rest during this run of games but I’m counting on everybody,” says Vrancken.
“You have to balance it a bit. You have to give important players some rest because otherwise their quality will suffer. You need them to play their best football, but they do need some rest at some moments. Even with Calvin and Mendy on the bench at Motherwell, plus all our injuries, we still managed to get a good result. Malachi Fagan-Walcott is coping really well since coming back. The injury against Sturm Graz was not because of fatigue. The ball was kicked at the front of his feet and his foot turned the wrong way. It was an unlucky injury but we are glad to have him back.”
Goalkeeper Beau Reus will be another important figure for Hearts. The giant Dutchman is still adjusting to some of the gamesmanship which takes place in Scotland having arrived in July from Belgian club Beveren. He explained some of the antics which take place inside six-yard boxes. “It's just about being a man and being strong in duels and things like that,” says Reus. “You can see how damaged my hand was after the Hibs game, when there was a loose ball and the guy just jumped on my hand. It's the kind of thing that doesn't happen in Belgium or in other competitions.
“You just have to stand your ground and be strong in those moments. You have to defend yourself, and that's really important. It's the same with high balls and corners. They grab your gloves and your kit, so you just have to be strong, push the guys away, fight with them and be stronger than them. You just have to be smart. I can't swing my arm and give away a penalty, so you have to be smart about it.
“There are small things you can do, like stepping on guys' toes or just using your elbow a little bit. It's about doing those little things intelligently. I think Marsh [Gordon Marshall, goalkeeping coach] has so much experience and has played a lot of games himself in Scotland, so he's the perfect goalkeeper coach for me at the moment.”
Marshall fully understands what Wednesday’s fixture means around Tynecastle. His father, Gordon Snr, is a Hearts legend from the club’s 1950s title-winning side. He is well-versed in the club’s culture. “He taught me a lot,” says Reus. “From the first or second day I came here, he helped me with everything, and he's continued to do that ever since. I think he'll continue doing that for as long as I'm here. I'm just really happy that he's here.”