Rangers Europa League congratulations due, but Hearts boss still plotting Cup final downfall

Hearts boss Robbie Neilson hailed Rangers’ efforts in Europe, saying their success will ultimately make it easier for Scottish sides to negotiate the once-lengthy run of qualifying games and, hopefully, aid their chances of reaching group rounds in the coming years.

“What Rangers did on Thursday night was outstanding for Scottish football as a whole,” said the Gorgie boss, whose league and cup fixtures against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will now sandwich the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

“It gets the co-efficient up. Last time we were in Europe here, we were in the first qualifying rounds and had to win four games back to back to try and get into the Europa League.

“But because of teams like Celtic and Rangers doing well, it has pushed us up and I’m pretty sure in a couple of years time when it kicks in again, we’ll be pushed up again. That’s great for Scottish football.”

Hearts will join the Europa group stages if they win their opening two-legged tie (on August 18 and 25) but have the safety net of the Conference League group stages if they come up short.

Looking to build on the momentum enjoyed domestically, Neilson is keen for his players to get used to performing in European competition and then join the Glasgow two in that domain on a regular basis.

“When you go into Europe, it is totally different from playing Scottish football. You need that experience,” said the man who sampled European competition with Hearts as a player, scoring the match-winning goal against Basel on UEFA Cup duty.

“Next season we’ll have eight games. God knows the last time a team outwith the Old Firm played eight games in Europe. It’s probably taken them four years to do it [play that number].

“So we’ll have that