Inside the Elton Kabangu love affair at Hearts as pal insists loanee striker will thrive in Rangers pressure cooker

Beni Baningime and Elton Kabangu have been winding their Hearts team mates up by speaking their native Lingala in the dressing room.

But on the park it’s new signing Kabangu’s goals that are doing the talking with five strikes in four games. And Baningime reckons the on-loan Union Saint-Gilloise striker can leave Rangers cursing when the sides clash at Tynecastle tomorrow. The Congolese midfielder said: “I texted Elton after the last game saying, you're going to enjoy this game. He lives for these moments. You need your game changers to be at it.

“Elton is one of those characters with his drive. He really wants to do well for the team, and he wants to do well for himself. He likes the big games, he likes the challenge. Because he could have easily just stayed at USG and maybe not have played or whatever, but he came here.

“It's not easy, the fans, the pressure. So he likes these big games, and he thrives off it. We were sharing a room, I think it was against Aberdeen away, and you can just tell even when we were speaking that he's definitely a leader.

“He's loved here. We speak the same language, Lingala. We're speaking our own language and everyone's just looking at us. He was born in Belgium, but his mum and dad are Congolese. I was born in Congo.

“Elton has brought us something that maybe we were lacking. An out ball that gives Shanks (Lawrence Shankland) space. It gives even us midfielders a space because then everyone's worried about him.”

Baningime has never tasted victory over Rangers in four years at Hearts but said: “I was joking around with Shanks that we always seem to get them when they need to bounce back. If they've had bad results, it always happens. Whenever you beat Rangers or Celtic, it's a huge