Derek McInnes has played down his full-time confrontation with Wouter Vrancken, joking that the Hearts boss thanked him for leaving such a strong squad behind at Tynecastle.
There was a tense stand-off between the two managers after the final whistle as the Rangers boss watched his side rescue a late point in Gorgie. The match ended 2-2, a result that frustrated both sides for different reasons.
McInnes had warned his players they would be stepping into a cauldron in the capital as he made his return to Tynecastle for the first time since his controversial departure to Ibrox. For long spells, it was the hosts who looked far keener for the fight as they roared back from Kevin Kelsy’s opener to score twice through Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller.
Just as Hearts thought they had secured a huge win in the title race, Rangers hit back with Olwethu Makhanya’s equaliser in the 88th minute.
When asked about the stare-off with Vrancken as the pair went to shake hands, McInnes said with a wry grin: “No, all good. I think he was just thanking me for how grateful he is for leaving him such a strong squad here.”
Hearts’ Belgian boss offered his own perspective on the incident, saying: “I have the biggest respect for him, for what he does at Rangers and what he did here, as I already said before the game. When you draw, lose or win, I think you have to have a genuine handshake. But we spoke at the end, and it’s all fine.”
McInnes knew he would face a rough reception as he returned to Gorgie. The Hearts support piled pressure on their old boss and his team, and it showed as a ragged Rangers side wilted after Kelsy had given them the lead.
The Rangers manager hopes the experience will provide his young forward line with a valuable lesson after avoiding a defeat that would have seen them fall further behind Celtic in the title race.
He said: “We’re disappointed we never showed more authority in the game. I don’t think you expect to have control when you come to Tynecastle. We’ve got a very young forward line and I don’t think we secured the ball enough.
“I think when we did, as we did for the two strikers combining for the first goal, it’s a brilliant goal in terms of combination play from them. You’ve got to credit Hearts. I think Hearts had the better players. I think they had three or four real top performers and players who played really well, so I have to be honest with that.
“We never started the second half. It’s inexplicable, really. We didn’t do enough to win the game, but we worked hard. I think the stats will show we had more possession, more big chances and a similar number of shots on target. But, as I say, the better performers were in Hearts jerseys tonight.
“I’ve got a really young forward line when you look at their ages, and tonight is a learning curve for them. I’m learning about them, but they’re also learning and developing their own games. Sometimes we just need to do the basics a bit better.
“The basics are securing possession, buying fouls when that contact is made and playing a wee bit more cutely at times. I thought we were a bit too haphazard in the forward areas, which in turn didn’t really allow us to gain any real authority in the game.”
McInnes took an ear-bashing all night from the fans who once idolised him as he took them to the brink of last year’s title. He said: “I didn’t expect anything different, and why should I? I get it. I totally get it.
“I liked coming round and seeing all my ex-players and all the players I signed. I actually met some of the players I’d signed for the first time. It was quite surreal, but seeing all the staff here and all my former players was brilliant. I had a brilliant time here. There was only fondness, so that’s part of it. But once the whistle goes, I know people aren’t going to be kind to me and I totally understand that.”
Makhanya was the only man in blue to earn pass marks, and his manager said: “You’re right to mention him. I thought he was outstanding and he had to be because we weren’t as assured around him at times. I thought he was terrific.”
With Celtic dropping points at home to Dundee United, it was a chance missed for Rangers. Hearts were also left frustrated after losing the opportunity to cut Rangers’ lead in second place to a single point.
Vrancken said: “I think when you concede a goal so late, you’re always disappointed because I think we deserved the three points today. You’re always disappointed, especially because you want to reward the players for what they’ve already done during this run of games and given the situation we’re in, as you all already know.
“It would have been a great win, but it was still a massive performance today. The spirit in the team is amazing. I can’t tell you how proud I am of their performance, their team spirit and their fighting spirit.
“You’re playing against a really good side who want to win the title, who spent a lot of millions during the summer and who aren’t playing in Europe, so they have fewer games. They also had an extra day of recovery going into this match.
“When you consider their individual qualities and everything else, and then look at this performance from our players, including the difficulties we’ve had out of possession and the situation we’ve been in, which we’ve already talked about many times, I’m really proud of what they did today.
“It’s nice to see that the players are frustrated. They’re not so much frustrated as disappointed because they also felt that they had lost two points here. We had to win it. We had to take the victory.
“Especially when you consider how the game unfolded, going a goal behind because of a mistake, then producing a really good first half and maintaining that level afterwards. We stayed together and fought for the win. The team spirit was amazing.
“It’s nice to see that, despite the situation we’re in, the players can be disappointed. You could see that disappointment in the dressing room because they felt they’d lost two points, rather than being happy with a point against a team like that. As a coach, I’m really happy to see it.”