Derek McInnes pleased to see key Hearts duo avoid bookings in win at Falkirk

Derek McInnes was delighted Hearts came through Saturday’s hard-fought 2-0 win at Falkirk without key duo Cammy Devlin and Alexandros Kyziridis incurring a suspension for next Sunday’s Tynecastle showdown with Rangers.

The pair are both on five league bookings and a yellow card against the Bairns would have ruled them out of the Gers clash as the Jambos – six points clear of Celtic – bid to tighten their grip on top spot in the William Hill Premiership.

McInnes, mindful of that scenario, replaced his entire front three – including Kyziridis – a few minutes after Stephen Kingsley’s 77th-minute strike had added to Claudio Braga’s early opener and taken the game beyond the Bairns.

But the manager let Devlin walk his suspension tightrope a while longer and almost paid the price before replacing the tenacious midfielder in the 87th minute.

“I probably should have taken Devlin off as soon as the second goal went in because obviously we wanted him to be available for Rangers next week,” said McInnes, who already has left-back Harry Milne suspended for the visit of the Ibrox men.

“But we just thought we’d get that front three on, just that freshness to keep the press and try to keep Falkirk honest at the back, and just to give us that threat.

“But if Cammy needed to remind me (of his suspension risk), he got involved in a wee skirmish, so I had to get him off, and thankfully he came through the game unscathed. Kyziridis was another one who was borderline.”

Hearts appear to have regained their poise with back-to-back away wins over Celtic and Falkirk after a four-game run without a win cast doubt over their ability to remain at the top.

“These were difficult games to navigate,” he said of their last two victories. “But we’ve now got a cracker next Sunday against Rangers at home. And we’re only five games shy of that second round of fixtures completing.

“The intention is we just treat every game in isolation with the merit it deserves and hopefully we can just keep picking up enough wins in this little section.”

While Hearts have rediscovered their form, Falkirk have failed to score in their last four matches, all against top-six opposition.

Manager John McGlynn admitted his team are “not quite ready to compete” with sides of Hearts’ calibre, but he is optimistic that the Bairns’ next two matches against struggling pair Kilmarnock and Dundee will allow them to get back on track.

“Our next two games are key, if we can get goals in these games then I’ll be happy with that,” he said. “These have been huge games – Rangers away, Motherwell at home, away to Hibs, then the league leaders.

“We’ve got to be making sure we’re staying away from the teams that are below us and that’s what we’ve got coming up with Kilmarnock and Dundee in the next two games. These are the games that we need to win.”