‘I will try anything to save Hearts’

“So that training was to help that side of the game for everybody.

“I have some experience from the past and what I also like from my coaching staff and new guys is to learn from every new situation. For me, this is a new situation, to have so many problems in the first weeks. The problem was not only when I came in but from before. You expected some things but to need so much time wasn’t what I expected.

“What we’ve talked about and done in the last few weeks or days, it’s not special or new, it’s not for Scottish football, but we need to find the right way to improve our game. I can say it’s one of the biggest challenges for me, I can say I’ve learned the most in the last couple of weeks.”

The last time Hearts defeated Rangers, in the league in late January, they followed that up by taking just two points from their following four league games. The onus on the side this time round is to prove Saturday’s victory can be a turning point, but Stendel is fully aware the challenge that awaits in tonight’s Edinburgh derby against Hibernian.

“What I’ve seen from our analysis of Hibs is they’ve improved in the last couple of weeks, they’ve been really good,” he added. “They have some new players and a different formation. They look very stable in their performances and it’s a big task to win points at Easter Road.

“It’s important that we show it wasn’t just one game we improved for and played with much more discipline.

“I thought after the last Rangers game we looked like we were going the right way. We played well and won and had games in front of us that if we’d played similarly then we could win. But that didn’t happen.”