JOE Garner made it onto the scoresheet yesterday, as did Barrie McKay, Martyn Waghorn and Michael O’Halloran. The only problem for the Ibrox faithful is that none of them currently play their football for Rangers, all four having been shown the door this summer. After the trauma of defeat at home last week to Hibs, the likelihood of Pedro Caixinha’s side attaining their goals this season took another hit as they drew a blank yesterday in this dour goalless draw against a resolute Hearts team.

Already humbled in Europe of course, it is a result which leaves Rangers trailing early league leaders Aberdeen, Celtic and St Johnstone by five points by mid-August, and means their start is actually statistically worse than last season, when they limped to just two wins of their first seven league matches, left vainly playing a game of catch-up which they eventually lost to Celtic by 39 points. As relaxed as Caixinha appeared to be about it all afterwards, the supporters weren’t quite so forgiving. It was hardly a surprise to hear boos ring around this ground at full time, after a laboured performance where Rangers hoarded possession but were only briefly able to carve out clear cut openings.

Seven days after Neil Lennon and Hibs had had their way here, all eyes were on another controversial Northern Irishman in the form of Kyle Lafferty, the club’s former striker, who returned to this ground the first time since objecting to the TUPE transfer of his contract to Charles Green’s newco back in June 2012. It was a symptom both of Hearts’ limited game plan and the player’s workrate that he was most often sighted in his own left back area.

“Kyle was knackered afterwards, he had cramp everywhere, all over his body,” said skipper Christophe Berra, the best player on the pitch. “But that is just testament to the work he did keeping Tavernier quiet.”

Hearts got the least that they came for, though, and all in all that means that another former Rangers player Jon Daly had done a pretty decent audition for Ian Cathro’s old job. “Well he has done nothing wrong,” said Berra. “That will be down to the board, they will be watching the games. It is not in his hands now. I don’t know what the situation is, I don’t know if it will become clear this week. But whether it is Jon or someone else the boys will fight for whoever it is.”

Ibrox target Jamie Walker, the subject of a couple of failed bids from Rangers, was tasked with getting up and help Isma Goncalves, who like Ryan Jack was playing after a red card last weekend was overturned on appeal.

There is already a familiar look to Caixinha’s preferred line-up, but that fast start which has helped them in previous matches certainly didn’t materialise here. While it took a last ditch Christophe Berra tackle to defy Kenny Miller after nice work down the left between Josh Windass and the fit-again Lee Wallace, Lafferty spoiled an early Hearts chance when he took an age to get a shot-off and John Souttar cracked the underside of the crossbar when given room to step up into midfield, with Lafferty again going close from the rebound.

Hearts took the scalp of Rangers twice in the League last year, both times at Tynecastle, once under Robbie Neilson and once under Ian Cathro, but this was a very different-looking capital outfit. Frequently a soft touch under Cathro, they were marshalled superbly at the back by the experienced Berra, with academy product Jamie Brandon and former Peterborough player Michael Smith plugging away manfully at full back.

Smith headed a Bruno Alves header off his line following a Candeias corner, then Scotland squad keeper Jack Hamilton saved well with his feet after Miller had got on the end of a Wallace cross. Morelos had a ‘goal’ chalked off for offside and a there were couple of last ditch tackles and low crosses flashed across the six yard box but it told a story that Niko Kranjcar was introduced just 10 minutes after the break in an attempt to deliver some inspiration.

Soon - with big money striker Eduardo Herrera not sighted since the opening day win at Motherwell - it was Ryan Hardie’s turn as Rangers attempted to turn the screw but Hearts simply refused to buckle. The young striker, the scorer of a goal for the Under-20s in the Irn Bru Cup defeat to Dumbarton in midweek, might have been the hero had his shot not deflected wide off Krystian Nowak, then a Morelos header was headed clear by Rafal Grzelak.

But in truth, only once had Hamilton really been required to produce something out of the ordinary. If it hadn’t been for the boos at the final whistle, and the Tynecastle club’s supporters celebrating their point, it would surely have been possible to hear the alarm bells ringing down Ibrox way.

“Of course, I can understand the fans booing at the end,” said Hardie afterwards. “At a club like Rangers, the fans expect you to win every week. As a squad we know we need to do that. It’s a huge disappointment for us and, even more so, for the fans. But we can’t panic, it’s still early in the season. It was a positive performance in terms of dominating the ball. We were just unfortunate not to get the goal.”