Neil Critchley hopes Hearts fans help keep unbeaten run going against Rangers

Neil Critchley is looking to use the passion of the Tynecastle crowd to help keep Hearts’ 2025 unbeaten run going when Rangers visit on Sunday.

The Jambos have yet to suffer defeat in seven matches since the turn of the year – an eight-game run in total – and go into the Premiership fixture on the back of a penalty shoot-out win over St Mirren in the Scottish Cup on Monday night.

Hearts lost 1-0 at Ibrox in November but the Light Blues travel to Edinburgh reeling from their shock Scottish Cup defeat to Championship side Queen’s Park last Sunday.

Jambos head coach Critchley said: “We’re in good form. We can go into the game with a positive feeling, knowing that we face good players, a good opponent, difficult challenge, but it’s a great game for us to look forward to.

“So hopefully we can use the energy of the crowd and feed off their passion and go and do everything we can to keep our unbeaten run going.

“We know we’re going to have to be good without the ball, because they’ve got very good technical players, intelligent players who know how to handle the ball, and they’re used to playing in big games, with big expectations, so they’re used to playing under this type of pressure.

“We have to be well-organised, good without the ball, but also, again, we want to try and take the game to the opponent.

“The game at Ibrox, after our indifferent first few minutes of the game, we grew into it and we really took the game to them, and we pushed them onto the back foot, particularly in the second half.

“I think we had over 50 per cent of the ball, which doesn’t happen often, particularly away from home against Rangers, so it shows that we’re capable of doing that.

“But that’s only come through our defensive organisation and how we approach the game. Our mentality has got to be right, and if it is, then I’m sure we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”

Critchley praised his side’s fighting qualities against the Buddies in Paisley, where they fought out a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes before emerging triumphant on penalties.

He said: “It takes a real collective effort if you want to win any football match, and at times the game wasn’t pretty, that’s for certain.

“We’ve had to fight and scrap, but that belief or that willingness never to lose, never to give up, to keep going, that never-say-die attitude, because it was looking unlikely, obviously the closer it gets to 90 minutes, but the players stuck in there, and all the players who came from the bench contributed.

“It took a huge collective effort, and sometimes in cup competitions it’s just about getting through, it’s about getting through to the next round, and fortunately, or thankfully, we did that.”