Russell Martin will be 'needing a helicopter' out of Rangers this weekend if one thing happens as Hearts aim to lay down marker
Rangers were wrong to overlook Hearts boss Derek McInnes for the Ibrox hotseat - and here’s why
Ex Hearts star Ryan Stevenson reckons current Tynecastle boss Derek McInnes is the closest Rangers could have got to Walter Smith - insisting their decision to overlook him for the Ibrox hotseat was a huge error.
The Jambos have an opportunity to put down a big marker in the Scottish Premiership with they travel to Govan this weekend, with Stevenson relishing the encounter against Russell Martin’s struggling side.
And he believes the Light Blues head coach could be “needing a helicopter” out of Ibrox this weekend if they suffer a defeat to the capital club, who harbour lofty ambitions of splitting the Old Firm in the near future.
Writing in his Daily Record column, Stevenson said: “No-one in Scottish football management reads the room like Derek McInnes. He should have been in the doors of Ibrox even before they appointed Philippe Clement, never mind Russell Martin.
“Thankfully, Rangers’ hierarchy made the same mistakes that Hearts bigwigs did before they finally saw sense. And what an opportunity for Del to go and prove it’s my old team that’s flying and leave Martin needing a helicopter.
“I’m absolutely buzzing for Saturday. It’s a huge game and a massive gauge for Del to see where his players are at. This is the acid test. In one game, Hearts will find out if they will be able to, I’m not saying challenge the Old Firm for the title, but put in a genuine and sustained fight.
“When Del was at Kilmarnock, I wanted him in the door at Tynecastle before Steven Naismith and before Neil Critchley. My only fear was that I thought he would probably bypass Hearts and go straight to Rangers and, talking bluntly, I think they were naïve looking for somebody down in England.
“To be perfectly honest, I believe Rangers have made exactly the same error in ignoring Del before going for Martin. Perhaps he doesn’t come across as flamboyant or a fancy appointment, but I’ll tell you what, he’s everything and more than what both teams had previously.
“Folk think I’m Del’s love child because I keep banging his drum, but I genuinely think he’s the closest old-school, new-school manager that you can get. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. He’s as close to Walter Smith as Rangers could have got.
“Del knows the game. We have been bamboozled by fast-talkers and stats-mania and it’s starting to turn. There is a place for that, I understand that. But I was listening to a couple of managers down in England this weekend and it is starting to turn because people are starting to get found out.
“I just think Rangers have missed the boat with Del. Funnily enough, I genuinely think they will end up knocking his door at some point, but right now he’s their worst nightmare as he’ll be absolutely dying for his team to put on a performance.
“If you want a manager that knows how to play this whole day, Hearts have him. That goes for the full situation from the bus pulling up outside the doors of Ibrox and every player walking in with a swagger.
“Jim Jefferies used to say: Walk in there as if you own Ibrox. It might all be a persona, but you do it. Then everybody at it in the warm-up, chest out. Over the years, Del’s teams have been mostly hard to beat. It’s been sloppy defensively so far this season, but he knows it and has stated they need to get back to clean sheets.
“If you’re looking through all this week and you’re having your meetings, which they’ll have, you’re seeing for the first time in a long time a situation where both Rangers and Celtic are imploding in unison.
“It’s not going to take much at the weekend for their fans to lose the rag with their teams and no-one will have a sense of this better than Del. In truth, if he was in the Rangers technical area, they probably wouldn’t be in their current mess.
“But they ignored him and that might just bite them on the a**e at the weekend. Hearts have it all to gain and I, for one, simply cannot wait for it because this might just be the day when my old club sends a message to rest and, crucially, to themselves.”