HOLD ON TO YOUR HEARTS

Jambos hold all the aces but can they hit jackpot?

- KEITH JACKSON

THERE'S a critical difference between doing something to remember and delivering something that will never be forgotten.

And these next six days might determine which of the two it will be for a Hearts side which lit up the domestic season over the course of these last seven months and made the seemingly impossible come tantalisingly close to becoming the achievable.

Without wishing to pile any added pressure onto Derek McInnes and his players, they must realise and embrace the enormity of this coming week. They must also seize the moment if they are to stitch their names into the fabric of the Scottish game for the rest of time.

Because, if they can dredge up the sheer force of will required to inflict defeats on both Hibs and Rangers in their next two games, then they will emerge from this week of all weeks with every reason to believe that history is firmly within their grasp.

One look at what went on in Glasgow's east end on Saturday evening will have given McInnes all the encouragement and fuel he needs to crank up the fire in the bellies of his players.

Celtic are a fractured champion right now and their internal unrest has rendered them vulnerable and there for the taking, Yes, Sir Rod Stewart might be content to breathlessly back his pals on the board but for those who are not fortunate enough to be invited for prawn sandwiches in the posh seats, Celtic remain a most uncomfortable watch.

Had Dundee not ran into a referee with a dodgy watch then they would have left Parkhead with a place in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup.

And, what's more, Steven Pressley's side would have been thoroughly deserving of the victory.