If anyone can hurt Hearts it’s me, says past master Shiels
DEAN SHIELS has presented his colourful previous form against old rivals Hearts as a persuasive case for him making a rare Rangers start as his club faces a Friday night last chance to mount a title challenge.
The former Hibernian forward — who admits the Ibrox fixture is ‘a must-win’ — is no favourite of the Tynecastle faithful thanks to scoring and sins against the Gorgie outfit before he signed for Rangers.
Yet his opportunities to cause mischief in Rangers colours against Robbie Neilson’s side have been limited in an all-too familiar reflection of his overall time in Glasgow.
Shiels was a late substitute when Hearts won on the opening day in Govan then sat out the 2-0 loss in Edinburgh as 10-man Rangers lost further ground in the Championship.
The Northern Ireland international has only earned three league starts this season and is wearily accustomed to being one of the odd men out among the attacking provision.
But with no one in the league capable of tripping unbeaten Hearts thus far, Shiels might fancy his chances of disturbing their serene progress.
He has the only goal for victorious Kilmarnock at Tynecastle back in 2011 to his name.
However, the real grief stems from his antics in a Hibs shirt when he landed both a late derby-day winner in 2005 and a red card the following year for flooring Craig Gordon after slamming a penalty past the then-Hearts keeper.
Shiels said: ‘I’ve never been that popular with the Hearts fans, as I like to remind (Lee) Wallace and (Ian) Black.
‘I have a few goals against them over the years. I scored the winner for Hibs in a derby when Tony Mowbray was there and that helped the club finish third in the league.
‘If we were to be beaten on Friday, it would be a very uphill task but we believe we can win. It’s a must-win game.
‘We need to rectify our results against the top teams. Since Hibs (the 4-0 defeat at Easter Road last month), we’ve been working really hard on what went wrong and how to fix it.
‘Hopefully, you’ll see a better performance against Hearts and that work will pay off.
‘We haven’t been good enough as a group to give Hearts a good enough challenge yet. Hearts have made fewer errors than us, scored more goals and created more chances.
‘If you look throughout the season, they deserve to be where they are. We’ve got to keep believing. Leads like that have been blown before. We’ve got to win every game and put pressure on as much as we can.’
Believing that Shiels is a reliable vehicle to put Hearts off their game is a challenge in itself. He signed a handsome four-year deal at the beginning of ‘the journey’, a couple of months after he was nominated for PFA Player of the Year in the top flight.
Nothing resembling that exciting form has been evident in sporadic displays for Rangers, although he is excused for a nine-month period out with a knee injury that ruined the end of his first campaign and the bulk of last season.
Shiels and Black arrived with top-flight credentials but have been letdowns in many ways.
So, too, has Kris Boyd this season after a mighty year keeping Kilmarnock in the Premiership with his goals.
When asked about the failure of those signings to hit their previous heights, Shiels said: ‘I’d agree — even look at (David) Templeton and a lot of players.
‘Circumstances dictate what’s happened, whether it be style of play, certain formations, the player being poor when selected.
‘I think the players have to be big enough to say we haven’t been good enough as a group, especially this season.
‘Obviously, I haven’t played enough. I feel as if I’ve contributed bits and pieces when I’ve come in or started.’