Hearts believe they can still catch Rangers, insists Tynecastle defender

Toby Sibbick insists the Hearts squad haven’t given up hope of catching Rangers despite there currently being a 15-point gap between second and third place in the cinch Premiership.

Robbie Neison’s side are on a strong run of late. They go into Saturday’s clash with St Mirren on the back of five games undefeated and full of confidence after vanquishing rivals Hibs 3-0 in Monday’s Edinburgh derby.

The upturn in results – they’ve also only lost once in their last eight league games – has meant a squad struggling for form earlier in the campaign due to the demands of group-stage European football is now five points clear in the best-of-the-rest spot.

Finishing in third would give them a great chance of once again getting to either the Europa League or Europa Conference League next term, but there’s also the carrot of Champions League qualification for finishing second.

Toby Sibbick battles for possession with Malik Tillman during Hearts' 1-0 defeat to Rangers in November. Picture: SNS

Given the gulf in resources between the clubs, not to mention the points difference (though Hearts have a game in hand), Sibbick says it remains the goal.

“We have another big game against St Mirren because if we can win there then we can start to build up a bit of a gap between us and fourth place. We need to focus on one game at a time and keep winning games,” he said.

“If you just worry about yourself, everything else will take care of itself. That is all we worry about. We don’t worry about other teams, just ourselves. I know that we have a squad that is more than capable of finishing third and even catching Rangers. That is what our aim is.”

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