JAMES TAVERNIER is not interested in becoming the more attack-minded midfielder most Rangers supporters believe he should be because he doesn’t have the skills to be a winger.

That the right-back is a good player isn’t in doubt. That he is in fact a natural right-back has been debated among the fans since the Englishman was signed 18 months ago.

Tavernier can be excellent going forward and while his goals have dried up, he’s scored just the two this season, the full-back is good for an assist and does bring his team up the park whenever given half the chance.

But there is always a mistake around the corner, which is what happened the last time Rangers faced Hearts, the two meet at Ibrox ten days after a 2-0 win for the home side ten days ago, when Tavernier didn’t mark his man properly at either goal.

Lee Hodson played at right-back in last weekend’s win over Aberdeen, and scored, so he should he keep his place for this match. But this not mean Tavernier is considering is a change of role.

“I'm a player who can play in quite a lot of positions and I felt comfortable when I was higher up the pitch," he said. "(But) as I see it, if I want to try and reach the best of my game I see the best of my game coming from right back.

“I'd like to think I've got the attributes to play at right back, but when you are going into different positions of maybe like a right wing or a centre midfield, you have got to be up there with the Eden Hazards if you want to be the best in the world. So going forward I probably think to myself right back is my best position."

Tavernier was honest enough to admit both goals in the Hearts defeat were down to him, although there were others on the park who hardly covered themselves in glory that evening in Gorgie.

He said: “To say I was gutted would be an understatement, to lose the way we did and I hold my hands up for both goals and it was something that was hard to hit home. I've looked over it and learned from it and it is only going to make me a better player.

"The occasions, the night, the tempo, they came with a different game plan than Aberdeen and pressed on in a smaller pitch. It was a different game plan and it worked for them. We're going to have to be better on Saturday, but we have got a great record at home and hopefully we can use that.

“I was especially disappointed with the second goal. I’ve gone into midfield to close one of their players down, then the guy has run from the left-back position into the space. I should have just defended the ‘maybe’ situation and that goal would definitely have been cut out.

“The first one was a cross into the back post, so there are definitely things I can learn from. You have to make mistakes to learn from certain situations, so that’s only going to make me better in the future.”

And it’s not as if he’s a player who will simply forget about the tough times. Tavernier forced himself to watch a rerun of his bad night at the office when many others wouldn’t have felt the need to put themselves through such agony.

“I’m always really tough on myself after I’ve had a bad game,” he said. “The two days after that game were really tough and it’s something you just need to get your head around.

“I watched the game again when I got home. I normally go to bed late after a midweek game, in the early hours of the morning, because I have so much adrenaline still running around. So I watch it to see what the good things and bad things were from it.

“That was obviously a hard one to watch because of the two mistakes which took everything else away from the game for us. Mentally, you have to get yourself in a better place after a couple of days. That’s what I’ve done. I’m back to my normal self now.”

This match is by far the best of the weekend. Rangers-Hearts encounters tend to be riveting affairs and this one has extra spice, if that is possible, because of the ease which the Edinburgh side won last time out and their change of manager.

Rangers were as good against Aberdeen as they were poor against Hearts. Last week was a much-needed win but they need to do more of this against top six teams before it really does become a thing.

“Against Hearts, we know we didn’t play well and when we played Aberdeen at Pittodrie, we didn’t feel we got the result we deserved,” said Tavernier.

“But we have beaten Aberdeen at home and now we’ve got Hearts on our own pitch where we have a great record. So that second spot is definitely a place we can grab.

“You always have a point to prove against any team you have dropped points against or not played well against in the previous meeting. They are coming to our place now, so we definitely have a point to prove to our fans that we can beat Hearts.”