Taylor Moore has challenged in-form Hearts to take their season to new heights by taking points off Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.
The Tynecastle side are 10 points clear of Motherwell in the chase for third place in the cinch Premiership and since November have not lost to any team bar Celtic and Rangers.
After taking four points from their first two league meetings with the Glasgow sides this term, they have lost narrowly in each of their last three clashes, despite putting up a strong fight.
Defender Moore believes they are ready to head west along the M8 and cause problems for Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s side on Sunday as they look to close the gap on the top two.
“We are in a good position at the moment,” he said. “We are 12 points above Hibernian, 10 above Motherwell as well. We are not actually looking behind, we are looking forward. The manager emphasises that as well.
“When we have gone up against the big two, we beat Celtic early on in the season and then got a point against Rangers. In the last couple of games we fell short. We will be looking to go there and put in a performance and hopefully take some more points off them, despite the big names.”
On-loan Bristol City player Moore has returned to the starting line-up in the last two matches following injury to Craig Halkett.
In addition, fellow centre-back John Souttar went off at half-time in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Motherwell and also missed Tuesday’s 0-0 draw away to city rivals Hibs.
Moore believes it demonstrates the strength in depth Hearts possess that they can keep back-to-back clean sheets in the absence of two key defenders and is excited about the way things are shaping up at Tynecastle.
“That is credit to the club, credit to the recruitment and the way they have handled this transfer window as well, getting the boys to sign new contracts,” said Moore.
“We have got a lot of good players in that dressing room. The gaffer always emphasises that when one steps out the other steps in.
“I have been a part of it this season. Sometimes you have to step aside and let other boys do their job. We have got a very good group of players and we are building towards the future, that’s for sure.
“There is a good mix here. We have got some experience and we have also got some very good young players coming through. We have got Australians, we have got English, we have got a bit of everything. But we are gelling together.
“It is a new team. You have got to remember this team has just come up from the Championship. But the club has a specific vision in mind and it will be interesting to see where it is going to take us.”
