SQUAD ALMIGHTY

Del: I knew Gers would change & come after us but I had faith in my players to cope with it

- BY ANDY NEWPORT

IT was a day Hearts' nerve for the title fight came under scrutiny.

A Rangers side resurgent under Danny Rohl had come to town looking to interrogate the Gorgie men's ability to handle the heat.

If Gers could get the win, their fans would have had every right to query those who had written off their own Premiership prospects.

But as it turned out, it was Derek McInnes left watching with pride as his team yet again came up with the perfect answer thanks to first-half goals from Stuart Findlay and Lawrence Shankland.

A fourth straight win over the Old Firm means the Jambos are top of the pile heading into the festive period.

That's a gift few in the capital would really have believed was possible at the start of the season, no matter the bold ambitions set out by investor Tony Bloom in August.

But the response to the challenge set by the Jamestown Analytics chief from McInnes and his players has been more emphatic than any of the Hearts faithful could ever have hoped for.

And yesterday's 2-1 win over Gers was another statement of intent for a team that looks more and more like favourites for the crown.

McInnes said: "We scored a couple of good goals, we could have had maybe one more in that first half.

"We got a wee bit of luck with the goal that was chopped off.