Hearts face a Rangers dilemma at Tynecastle - plus latest on Cammy Devlin, Harry Milne, Craig Gordon & Ageu

Some of the most important management meetings in Hearts’ history will take place over the coming days. Monday’s critical Premiership title match with Rangers at Tynecastle Park is as big a game as any in the club’s recent history. Forming a tactical plan, anticipating the opposition’s line-up and formation, plus picking the right starting XI are all vital.

Derek McInnes and his coaching staff have their work cut out navigating all of the above. One area causing much debate is whether Rangers will deploy two strikers in Edinburgh, or a slightly more conservative 4-2-3-1 set-up. There are four games remaining in the Premiership and Hearts are three points clear of Celtic at the top. Rangers are third, four points behind the leaders. There is no room for error, especially for the Glasgow club.

“This week, me and the staff are just looking at Rangers. First of all, you try and commit to a shape that you think is right to play against them,” explained McInnes. “You've got to anticipate what they're going to do. You've got a team with everybody available to you as it stands, or maybe one or two not available. Just try and work from there. We'll have a look at one or two things. As the game gets closer, we'll finalise that on Sunday and decide what team we'll go out with. I think Rangers could be 4-4-2, but I don't know if they'll come here 4-4-2 with [Bojan] Miovski and [Youssef] Chermiti. So we'll just try and prepare ourselves to have a team set to deal with what they put out.”

There are different dilemmas when selecting the Hearts team. McInnes will be mindful of some experienced players missing through injury. Midfielders Tomas Magnusson, Oisin McEntee and Eduardo Ageu are out until next season. Cammy Devlin is also unlikely to be fit to face Rangers, although Riccarton staff are not yet ruling him out. Defender Harry Milne has a good chance of being available.

“We still have a lot of long-term injuries,” said McInnes. “Ageu is down in London today getting the final box ticked. He's doing really well. Obviously, these are boys for pre-season work now. Craig Gordon has had a wee bit of a virus. One or two have had that this week. He's been out to do a bit of handling. Hopefully, he trains fully next week. That would be the intention for big Craig. Cammy and Harry are both progressing really well. I can't say with any certainty if both will be ready for Monday. We're confident we can get one of them there. I just don’t want to say what one.”

Hearts investor Tony Bloom attended last Sunday’s dramatic Edinburgh derby win against Hibs at Easter Road. He could make another appearance at Tynecastle to watch the Rangers match. “I didn't even know he was up until after the game,” admitted McInnes. “I haven't spoken to him. Obviously Graeme Jones [Hearts sporting director] speaks to Tony regularly and he has conversations with others at the club.

“I'm kept up to speed about how everybody is happy with what we're giving at the minute. We just need to try and tap into everything to try and keep it going. It's never been anything more than what it is now [with Bloom]. It's been the odd conversation, the odd text throughout the season. Obviously Brighton are doing particularly well at the minute. They're fighting for Champions League spots. Graeme Jones is normally in contact with Jamestown and Tony.”

Monday is a must-win fixture for Rangers if they want to sustain title aspirations, but Hearts are in an enviable position. Their destiny remains in their own hands. “I only see Monday as a chance for us to win another game because we're going to have to win games if we're going to get the outcome we want,” said McInnes. “I think all three teams will believe there's four wins in them. I think anybody will believe they can go and win it now. Rangers included. We just need to concentrate on winning the game. If, by doing that, it makes it more difficult for them, then so be it. For us, win, lose or draw, we still feel we'll be in a fight. But we're in a fight on Monday and we're determined to win that one.”

As they edge towards the cusp of history, the composure and calmness of the Hearts squad is to be admired. Pressure is increasing by the week as the club’s first top-flight title for 66 years beckons. Only veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon has won the Premiership and he is injured, so those involved on matchdays find themselves in uncharted territory. There are nerves, but they are being well-managed within the dressing room.

Supporters are rather more fidgety and anxious. “There's no doubting that there's a lot of nerves out there. You feel that and I hear it when people speak to me, like when Hearts fans speak to me,” said McInnes. “They're kind of torn between loving what they're seeing but kind of just wanting it all over as well. Just put any sort of nervous energy into getting behind the team and stick with it.

“In the last couple of games we've had to come from behind against Motherwell and Hibs, which isn't ideal and obviously it's not something we want. But it shows that we've got that. Sticking with the team is a big part of that. Hopefully we can get off to a good start, a fast start and make it a good day for us on Monday. We're looking forward to it, we just want to enjoy the end part of it as well.”

Poise and self-assurance were vital components in Hearts’ 2-1 win against nine-man Hibs last week. They toiled to break down the hosts for long spells despite the numerical advantage. Lawrence Shankland’s equaliser and Blair Spittal’s 86th-minute winning goal sparked scenes of unbridled euphoria in the away end as fans witnessed their team go three points clear atop the Premiership table.

“I think last week there was a maturity to the team because obviously the derby games are always very fiercely-contested. There was a lot of pressure on the Hibs players as well as ours. I thought we kept our composure and discipline really well,” said McInnes. “We were so focused on starting the game strongly and to a point we did - up until the Hibs goal. That sets you back. but if you are going to lose a goal, lose it early on and you've still got plenty of time.

“The whole landscape of that game changes with the red card to both the Hibs players [Raphael Sallinger and Felix Passlack] which made it attack v defence more or less. You still have to come up with moments, though. I thought Hibs defended brilliantly but I do think there was a feeling, I don't know. There was a kind of feeling within the dugout that ‘we're alright here, a goal will come’.

“We just needed somebody to find the right pass and the right composure really to get the goal. Obviously it was aided by a bit of deflection when it goes in, and every team needs these sort of wee things. I actually thought that the team didn't really panic too much. There was a wee bit of disappointment that we threw corners in and put a few crosses in when we could have worked the opportunity a wee bit more. I still think that's a wee bit understandable but, in the main, I actually thought we looked like a team who believed they could win, rather than just hoped to win.”