Rangers boss Steven Gerrard pleased to see Hearts thriving in Scottish Premiership after 2020 'treatment'

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard says he’s pleased to see Hearts back in the top flight of Scottish football after how the club were treated in 2020.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard during the last time his side met Hearts. Picture: SNS

The Liverpool legend will see his Ibrox side host Robbie Neilson’s men in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday afternoon with the visitors sitting just one point behind the reigning champions at the summit.

It’s the first time the teams will have met since Hearts defeated Gerrard’s outfit 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup in February 2020.

A short time later the season was brought to an end by the pandemic, which saw Hearts prematurely relegated to the second tier as the Premiership’s bottom-placed club when the action stopped after a contentious vote which saw Dundee reverse their stance once they found they had the deciding ballot.

Gerrard is happy the Tynecastle side are once again thriving among the big boys as he aims to end their unbeaten start to the 2021/22 campaign.

He said: “I am pleased to see Hearts back in the top flight after how they were treated.

“They have recruited well and have a good squad. It is no surprise to me that they have started well but my focus is on us tomorrow and putting some distance between us come 5pm.”

Meanwhile, the Rangers manager expects to have Kemar Roofe available for selection on Saturday despite the player missing training today as he continues his journey back from international duty with Jamaica. The game comes too early for Ryan Kent and Ryan Jack on their journeys back from injury.

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.