Forget Rangers ... Hearts and Derek McInnes deserve so much credit for win as two major decisions pay off

Captain Lawrence Shankland netted twice to send the small pocket of Hearts fans inside Ibrox jubilant. It was their first win in Govan since 2014.

We take a look at some of the maroon-tinted talking points from an eventful Saturday afternoon Ibrox:

Hearts continue to motor along

Hearts wake up on Sunday morning top of the Premiership. Should Celtic defeat Kilmarnock to complete the round of fixtures, then they will move above them on goal difference. Nevertheless, 13 points out of 15 is an excellent haul for the Jambos, who have been galvanised by manager Derek McInnes.

It is very early days, so let’s not even begin to talk about a title charge (remember Aberdeen last season?). New investor Tony Bloom has designs on Hearts being champions in the next decade but doing it in year one would be utopian. What McInnes and Co have done is melded together a team that is already seven points clear of Hibs and 12 ahead of the Dons, albeit having played a game more.

Hearts are putting themselves in a really good spot to be ‘best of the rest’. They have burst out of the traps and are building momentum. A buoyant Hearts are a powerful force in the Scottish game. Winning at Ibrox for the first time in 4052 days only add more fuel to the juggernaut.

A proper team effort

McInnes deserves credit for the way he has constructed this Hearts team. They have all the right ingredients: an experienced and robust defence, a tenacity in midfield and a veritable goal threat in captain Lawrence Shankland and Portuguese forward Claudio Braga. He was the best player on the pitch, a clever individual with vision and trickery.

The front two were also ably supported by wingers Harry Milne and Alexandros Kyziridis. And when Rangers had a 20-minute spell when they put pressure on Hearts, they held firm.

The squad Hearts have assembled allows them to turn to the bench. Elton Kabangu and Tomas Magnusson added fresh impetus to the team in the latter stages. And this was without record signing Ageu, a midfielder with promise who has a hamstring issue.

Hearts have the depth to deal with injuries and poor runs of form. While McInnes wanted to trim the squad in the last transfer window, he knows there are options at his disposal.

McInnes’ big calls

McInnes also deserves credit for two key decisions that paid off against Rangers.

The first was in goal. Alexander Schwolow, a 33-year-old German, was given his debut ahead of Zander Clark, whose early-season performances have been ropey. It would have been easy to hand Schwolow his bow in two weeks’ time at home to Falkirk - an easier fixture on paper - but McInnes wanted him in now. The former Union Berlin stopper seemed pretty assured and made a couple of smart saves.

The second big call was to move left-back Harry Milne out to the right wing. Milne has been excellent this season, but the manager wanted an inverted right-sided wide-man and was also wary of Rangers’ threat down the left. The ex-Partick man was extremely impressive in an unfamiliar position. The experience Stephen Kingsley filled in well at left-back with Milne otherwise engaged.

McInnes knew he would be scrutinised for those two team posers. They turned out to be the right ones.