Rangers lack the maturity to become champions - there are changes coming at Ibrox

The victory for Hearts doesn't arithmetically end third-placed Rangers' chances of winning the Premiership title but Rohl and his players know they are now looking for snookers. They must win their last three matches against Celtic, Hibs and Falkirk and hope the league-leading Jam Tarts take a maximum of two points from their remaining games.

It is unlikely. What is more plausible is their challenge officially being ended before they next kick a ball. Should Hearts win at Motherwell on Saturday night, the day before Rangers head to Celtic Park, and the best Rohl and Co is achieve is second spot.

The silent seethe from Rohl was because of what his team showed him at Tynecastle. We saw the good, the bad and the ugly. Rangers dominated the first half with controlled, precise football and deservedly led at the break. Had they added to Dujon Sterling's opener, there wouldn't have been may complaints. But after the break, as Hearts regrouped and rallied, Rangers completely fell apart. They conceded two goals and by the end resorted to lumping long, hopeful balls into the penalty box in a vain attempt to find an equaliser.

The gap between Rangers and Hearts is now seven points. They are four off Celtic. At one point the Ibrox side had become favourites for the title, but their familiar frailties are biting them on the backside.

Rohl deserves a fairly large dollop of credit for where he has taken Rangers from. Appointed in October, the club had lurched into a near-crisis under previous head coach Russell Martin. The fans were mutinous, Ibrox had become an uncomfortable venue to play in and the players were low on confidence. With one win in the league, they sat in mid-table. Most supporters had written off a title charge.

Rangers unable to find another gear

So for Rangers to be on the premises is an achievement in itself. Rohl has rejuvenated players such as Emmanuel Fernandez, Nicolas Raskin and Youssef Chermiti. A spate of narrow wins were turned into more eye-catching results in the early part of the year, such as beating Celtic away from home 3-1 and then defeating Hearts 4-2 at Ibrox in mid-February. Back then, they had the momentum.

What Rangers have not been able to do is find another gear. They maxed out a couple of months ago. Warning signs were there: a stalemate against ten-man Livingston, a failure to hold on to a 2-0 lead against Celtic at home in early August. That 2-2 draw was followed up by a defeat on penalties in the Scottish Cup to their Old Firm rivals.

Whenever Rangers have got close to the top, they have folded. A largely inexperienced squad that has gone through so much this season, they don't have the maturity yet to become champions. This is partly understandable given the journey they have been on, but it will also vex Rohl and perhaps the board too. This was an opportunity and Rangers were unable to seize it.

The game at Tynecastle showed what Rangers can be when it all clicks together. There is clearly ability within the squad, but with a rump of players in their early-to-mid 20s, they don't have the fortitude to properly seize high-stakes affairs. Since the split, they have lost 3-2 to Motherwell and 2-1 to Hearts.

Scoring goals hasn't been a problem for Rangers - 27 in their last 12 games - but the defence, which started off so strong under Rohl, has become a big issue. They've shipped 18 during the same period, and there is a softness that Rohl hasn't been able to rectify.

We must remember that Rohl is young in management terms too. Just 37-years-old, this is his biggest gig in management and while he conducts himself with class and dignity, it will irk him that he has not been able to take Rangers to the next level. It was telling at Tynecastle that he had no answer to his Hearts counterpart and wily fox Derek McInnes, aged 54, who changed his team's shape at the break.

Rangers spent money in January in an attempt to win this title. Left-back Tuur Rommens and striker Ryan Naderi cost close to £8 million and while they've made an impact, half of the time they have been injured. Tochi Chukwuani has done okay; Andreas Skov Olsen has not. The Danish winger, on loan from Wolfsburg, has been a bitter disappointment. Rohl started him at Tynecastle and it didn't pay off. He's not cut out to be a Rangers player.

Finishing second - most likely their best bet - would bring Champions League qualifiers and once the dust settles would symbolise a good return for such a tumultuous campaign. But lose at Celtic Park, where they won so convincingly in January, and they are booked for third.

Rohl urged his team to learn from the past few weeks, to improve, to iron out their Jekyll and Hyde nature. There are changes coming at Ibrox. Captain James Tavernier will leave at the end of the season, the end of an 11-year era. Bids may come in for Fernandez, Raskin and Chermiti. Several loan deals expire. There is a decent amount of recruitment work to be done at Rangers.

Some more experience would certainly help. Rangers simply have not had the minerals to deal with what they catapulted themselves into.

Some wins between now and the end of the season would help Rohl too. Pressure will build if a trophyless campaign ends with a whimper. It would undo some of the very good work the head coach has done.

Privately, Rangers would have been delighted with a one-point gap going into the split two weeks ago - and Rohl predicted long ago that the league would go down to the last day. It may well do, but Rangers are now unlikely to be part of it.