Neil Critchley takes Rangers crisis out of the equation as Hearts boss remains wary of wounded Bears
Neil Critchley suspects Rangers' horror show against Queen's Park could make things HARDER for his team.
Hearts host under-fire Philippe Clement and his team this Sunday as Gers return to Gorgie for the first time since a goalless draw on the opening day of the season. Neither side's campaign has gone to plan since, with the Jambos only now starting to climb the table after a wretched run under Steven Naismith led to his sacking and Critchley's appointment.
It's been open season on the Light Blues since suffering one of the worst results in their history as they were dumped out of the Scottish Cup at home by lower-league opposition for the first time ever. But Critchley, who saw his side book their quarter-final date with Dundee thanks to a penalty shoot-out win over St Mirren on Monday night, is wary of a Rangers team that will have a reaction demanded of them.
READ MORE: Lennon Miller boost for Motherwell as he closes in on rapid return after hitting training milestone
"You could say that makes it more difficult for us because they'll obviously be looking for a response from that game," he told Sky Sports. "We take that game out of the equation. I know Rangers and their supporters won't do that but they've got excellent players and were on a really good run of form.
"We know any time we play Rangers it's a tough game. Having said that, we're at home, we've got the passion and the energy of our supporters behind us and we're in good form ourselves so it's got the makings of a really good game.
"When we're at home, we always want to be the dominant team and take the game to the opposition. It doesn't always work that - we didn't start particularly well against Kilmarnock for example, but we found a way to win. We have to be adaptable. Rangers will be looking to bounce back from their defeat last weekend and they'll want to start fast as well."
