'Heart the size of a pea' - what pundits said about Rangers, James Tavernier and response to Hearts cramp

Rangers led at half-time through Dujon Sterling’s opener but Hearts came roaring back in the second half with goals from Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland taking them a huge step closer to clinching a first league championship for 66 years.

Tavernier was slow to react to a rebound as Kingsley knocked home the equaliser, before the skipper failed to cut out the cross that led to Shankland drilling the winner.

The 34-year-old is set to depart Ibrox after 11 seasons with three major trophies to his name after Rangers fell seven points adrift of leaders Hearts with three games to go in the Premiership season.

“The finish from Kingsley is excellent but look at the Rangers captain there,” former Celtic striker Sutton said on Sky Sports. “That sums him up, his time at Rangers as captain. He has the heart the size of a pea.

“He’s bad on both goals. He should react, he should smell the danger and try and block it. He doesn’t. He is so lax there. He has killed his team.”

Sutton added: “We saw balls going into the Hearts box, and (Craig) Halkett goes and attacks things. He loves defending. But that all comes from your captain. I mean, Rangers were seeing the pathetic attempts from Tavernier on both goals, and that’s essentially what did for them – two really lax pieces of defending.

“They’ve spent a fortune this season. So there will be questions rightly asked of what is required to (reach) the next level, because this isn’t a one-off, Rangers choking at the end of the season. This has happened for years, and things need to change. That mentality needs to change within the group.”

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd contrasted Hearts’ “team spirit that money can’t buy” with the Light Blues’ mentality. Rangers were well placed to challenge for the title going into the split but defeats by Motherwell and Hearts mean they have suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time since March 2018.

Boyd said: “When it’s got to the stage now where you have to win games, Rangers came up short.

“If I go back to the experience that I had and the players that I played with, if there was one or two under-performing or not pulling their weight, then they would be pulled up, and you didn’t want to be that person who was being dug out in front of your team-mates.

“I’m not so sure that’s the case there, I’m not so sure somebody’s turning around and having a go if you’re not performing.”

Boyd added: “Rangers players are actually stretching Hearts players off (when they had cramp). You’re trying to beat them for a title. Maybe the game’s changed but it doesn’t really send off vibes to me that I’m going to suffer to win this game. You should be walking off that pitch hurting.

“Rangers two weeks ago were the bookies’ favourites and, two games later, boom, out of it.”