RYAN STEVENSON

YOUR VOICE OF THE JAMBOS EVERY WEEK IN RECORD SPORT

- 

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 I thought he would probably bypass Hearts and go straight to Rangers and, talking bluntly, I think they were naive looking for somebody in England.

Naisy was in-house, a cheaper option. Nothing against him, it was too big for him for a first job and they went for Critchley because it looked good recruiting from south of the border.

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.