AT a time like this Ally McCoist could be forgiven for thinking that Mike Ashley might not be the worst man to be pulling the strings at Rangers.

How many times has Ashley turned a deaf ear to Newcastle United fans chanting and protesting for Alan Pardew to be sacked? Ashley wasn't at Tynecastle as Rangers lost their biggest test of the season but he will hear of the chant from the away section of the Roseburn Stand early in the second half. "Ally, Ally get tae ****," sang the Rangers crew, exasperated and brought to the boil by the substitution which replaced Kenny Miller with Richard Foster.

Ashley hasn't shown much interest in winning any popularity contests since becoming involved with the club and the views of the angry 1300 who travelled to Edinburgh will doubtless go in one ear and out the other. His position on McCoist's future- and on everything else to do with Rangers - is unknown but it is safe to assume he regards automatic promotion as a prerequisite.

That is more unlikely than ever after the Hearts juggernaut moved nine points clear on Saturday. Hearts didn't have their captain. They didn't have their top scorer. They didn't play especially well. They took some crude treatment from Stevie Smith, who was sent off, and from Miller and Kris Boyd who could have been off too. But they came through it like they've come through everything else. Unbeaten after 14 games, they have given themselves a terrific cushion for the inevitable days when they do lose and draw and Rangers try to apply pressure from behind.

At Tynecastle, there was a real sense of what a reduced force Rangers are these days. Off the field their ticket allocation was halved, and Hearts fans dominated. On it, Rangers didn't have any answers after Smith was guilty of their first act of brainlessness by getting himself sent off for a lunge at Callum Paterson deep in the Hearts half. Rangers had been the better side until then, pressing tirelessly and containing Hearts, and in truth they kept that going for most of the first half.

It was asking too much to sustain the resistance with 10 men for 70 minutes, though, and Hearts eventually began to stretch them. Miguel Pallardo, in particular, tried to play football but it was a generally ugly match. In 30 years of going to games I can't think of one with more fouls.

Rangers were guilty of most of them. Their determination and appetite could not be faulted but their play was often crude and it lacked quality. Ian Black's ridiculous barge in the back of Jamie Walker, a penalty all day long, summed up the poor decision-making which undid them. Walker scored to add to Jason Holt's opening goal, a lovely drive after Paterson's cross got the better of Lee McCulloch and Darren McGregor.

Rangers' record against their two biggest rivals for promotion stands at played three, lost three. "The manager made that point before the game and the way we started you could see we were well up for it," said striker Jon Daly. "We came out of the traps really well. But over the 90 minutes we have come away with another defeat against an Edinburgh side - something we have to stop. We can't afford to drop more points.

"All the boys really like the manager and the coaching staff. You have to look close to home as players and ask, 'are we doing enough to help him out when we go out there?' When we come in after our games we will look at Hearts' results but first and foremost we need to make sure we get our results on the park and our three points, then we can see if Hearts have slipped up. It's out of our hands at the moment and it's Hearts' to throw away."

Hearts' to throw away? That's premature with 22 games to go, but if you were Rangers you would worry about the nervelessness they have shown so far. When Rangers have tried to rattle them it has had no effect. There is a focus, and a sense of purpose and mental strength, around Tynecastle which makes them a powerful force. Robbie Neilson, in public at least, seems unflappable and serene. What did they do yesterday after this massive test? They came in for training.

When they faced Celtic in the League Cup they had chances but were well beaten at Parkhead. It will be interesting to see how they cope when Celtic come to Edinburgh in the William Hill Scottish Cup on Sunday. They are likely to lose, but the cup is secondary. "The fans are expecting a lot of us this season and we were just pleased to get the three points," said Walker. "It was a massive chance for us to go nine points clear and, thankfully, we managed it. But it's only 14 games into the season. There's a long way to go and anything can happen. [Nine points] is only three defeats and we need to keep our feet on the ground and go again."

Right now, it seems inconceivable that Hearts will still be in the Championship next season. Rangers will surely go up, too. But they do not impress.