Rangers remain off target as signings misfire

Heart of Midlothian 0 - Rangers

Rangers' barren journey continues. Alex McLeish's side failed to score at Tynecastle for the third away match this season, and now find themselves trailing in Celtic's wake after just five games of the Scottish Premier League campaign.

McLeish refused to be unnerved by the gap of seven points held by the champions and with the impending Uefa Cup tie on Thursday in Portugal against Maritimo, he shrugged off suggestions that the pressure was intolerable.

"I remain positive," he said after the goalless draw yesterday. "I don't think this is the right time to be talking about my job. It's ridiculous and negative with a Uefa Cup tie just around the corner.

"It is only September. Celtic have still to come to Ibrox and here, and that won't be easy."

It certainly was not for Rangers. The failure of their summer recruitment was underlined when their new strikers, Dado Prso and Nacho Novo, were taken off in the second half.

However, there was little chance of anyone breaking the deadlock yesterday. A feisty contest, laced with strong tackles, saw seven players booked and a free-for-all at the end when Jean Alain Boumsong was caught by Robbie Neilson's arm and then Hearts striker Mark de Vries grabbed Paolo Vanoli by the throat.

Had the deadlock been broken early in the game, a different outcome might have emerged but a superb save from Stefan Klos denied de Vries after 15 minutes.

Rangers brought on Shota Arveladze in the second half and the Georgian striker ought to have scored when Chris Burke's superb cross picked him out, but he headed wide from six yards.

Burke's trickery carved Hearts wide open in the dying stages, but Steven Thompson missed and then Paul Hartley squandered an even better opportunity for Hearts when he reached Alan Maybury's cross but headed over from just four yards with the goal at his mercy.

Heart of Midlothian (4-4-2): Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Maybury; Stamp, Hartley, Kisnorbo (MacFarlane, 87), Hamill (McAllister, 84); de Vries (Janczyk, 61), Weir. Substitutes not used: Moilanen (gk), Wyness, Berra, Stewart.

Rangers (4-4-2): Klos; Ross, Moore, Boumsong, Vignal; Burke, Ricksen, Mladenovic, Vanoli (Lovenkrands, 69); Novo (Arveladze, 54), Prso (Thompson, 69). Substitutes not used: Smith (gk), Davidson, McCormack, Andrews.

Referee: D McDonald.

Booked: Hearts: Maybury, Pressley, Hartley, Neilson. Rangers: Ross, Moore, Thompson.

Man of the match: Webster.

Attendance: 14,601.