Rangers 2-0 Hearts: Things we learned as Gers cut gap to six points

Rangers are now just six points from first place in the Premiership after dispatching Hearts 2-0 at Ibrox.

Rangers were dominant from most of the game, and only an inspired performance from Hearts’ keeperJon McLaughlin prevented a more comfortable victory from Graeme Murty’s men. Here’s a few things to think about going forward.

Daniel Candeias is still underrated

Candeias simply never has a bad game. The quality of his delivery and his discipline and workrate in tracking back never seem to suffer regardless of circumstances, giving us a solidity to our right flank and a reliable source of clear-cut chances. He’s not the most heralded player in this Rangers team, but perhaps he should be.

Jason Cummings should probably get more of a shot

Alfredo Morelos’ all-round play was very good today, but he’s still looking extremely inconsistent in front of goal. Given the aforementioned ability of Candeias to put in excellent crosses every game, and the fact that Morelos often struggles to finish such chances whereas Jason Cummings thrives on them, it’s not too outrageous to consider giving El Bufalo a bit of a rest soon.

Greg Docherty and Jamie Murphy are improving already

Jamie Murphy has gotten well into his stride as a Rangers player already, making it three in three with an excellent solo finish to break the deadlock in the first half. Greg Docherty, meanwhile, has improved in each game, having an excellent performance today and giving us another outlet as well as Tavernier for driving the ball forward from our own half. Rangers completely dominated Hearts’ midfield, and Docherty was a big part of the reason why, As for the endless stream of chances at the other end, Murphy played a huge role.

Can we dare to dream?

If Celtic continue to stutter through some of their easier games, Rangers simply have to capitalise. Our squad is deep, our players are in form, and we have a sense of balance and purpose to the side that we haven’t seen in a long time. The Old Firm clashes may yet decide it, but slipping up against diddy teams from here on out would be simply unforgivable. We have a very interesting few weeks ahead.