By Ben Banks

Copyright scotsman

Jeff Stelling has shared why he reckons there will be plenty delighted to see Hearts win at Rangers – including himself. For the first time in over a decade, the Jambos walked away from Ibrox with maximum points, thanks to a double either side of half time from Lawrence Shankland. It puts Derek McInnes’ side nine points clear of the Light Blues and has sparked further conversation on whether Hearts could finish above Rangers this season. New minority investor Tony Bloom has said that second is not outwith the realms of possibility at Tynecastle this campaign while Rangers head coach Russell Martin is under serious pressure after three wins from 12 matches. Sports broadcasting icon Jeff Stelling was talking over the game on talkSPORT during his Monday morning show. A massive Hartlepool United fan, he is delighted to see Hearts mixing it with one of Scotland’s household names, and reckons plenty other neutrals will be revelling in their success. Stelling said: “It’s great to see. Every neutral, every neutral, will be delighted to see Hearts up there.” Former boss Steven Naismith was watching over the game and was full of praise for the side he left last year. He said on Sportsound: “Perfect performance. I think watching the game, they looked like the home team, they looked like the team in control. They looked like the ones that picked the right moments to attack. But I think a lot of that comes to the recruitment they’ve made in the summer. “The players that have come in ultimately make the right choices. The game was never end to end. At no point did they really look exposed. That’s credit to the new recruitment team. The managers come in and you could tell, I said it on commentary, it was a Derek McInnes performance. Out of possession they were really hard to beat. Everybody working for the team and they carried a threat right to the end. They could have had a third goal right at the end there.” Speaking to BBC Sport Scotland after the game, Hearts boss McInnes said: “It is an important win for us in terms of giving belief to a lot of the new lads and the lads who have been here a while who have been scarred by not winning at places at Ibrox. Everybody was making reference to our poor record here and it is good to put that to bed. “People will focus on Rangers, but I thought we were bullish and confident and had a way about us in the first half. It is tough for Rangers at the minute and we wanted to add to that anxiety, so any opportunity to press them high and not let them build the way they want to play, we tried to take that. “It was an absolute masterclass by Lawrence Shankland up front. He led the line brilliantly and was well supported behind – we were outstanding to a man.”