Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith will take positives from defeat against Celtic ahead of their “two biggest games of the season”.
Hearts were the better side until Alex Cochrane was sent off near the end of a goalless first half and Celtic went on to win 2-0.
Naismith disagreed with the red card and felt his team deserved more from the game, which leaves them in fourth place in the cinch Premiership, five points behind Aberdeen and one ahead of Hibernian.
Hearts now travel to Paisley to face sixth-placed St Mirren on Saturday before hosting the Dons the following weekend.
Naismith said: “When we look back, there will probably be a lot of positives for us.
“The next two games are the biggest games of the season and they will define where we finish.
“This game was always going to be our most difficult challenge. We acquitted ourselves well.
“Before the game I said we would be aggressive, we would have our moments in attack. We did that.
“We were brave defensively against the best forwards in the league and they never created too many chances until the red card.
“They made their moments count in the second half but there’s lots we can take positives from.
“We have said consistently there’s a good group of players here who want to do better, who want to improve and who want to be successful. The last two performances, you can see that’s definitely the case.”
Clement wants ruthless Rangers after nervy win over Hearts
Rangers boss Philippe Clement called on his team to show greater ruthlessness after they were made to work for a 1-0 win over Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Cyriel Dessers put the Gers ahead after just six minutes at Ibrox, diverting James Tavernier's effort past visiting goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
However, Clement's team failed to build on that quick start and inched over the line amid a tense atmosphere, moving back to within nine points of pacesetters Celtic and Aberdeen.
Speaking after the game, Clement acknowledged his players are fatigued after a gruelling run of fixtures but added they must start taking their chances.
"We made too many wrong choices with the ball and became too sloppy," Clement said.
"It's the end of a very busy period, though, with a lot of travelling and they're all human beings, not robots.
"We missed scoring the second goal and we know that until you get that goal the other team stays in the game, so I want us to kill the belief of the opponent faster.
"I'm very satisfied with the result and the deserved three points. We didn't show the same quality in the second half and we didn't finish off the game. We had a few chances, but it stays nervous until the last second."
Rangers host Dundee United after the international break, while Celtic visit Hearts and Aberdeen travel to St. Mirren.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnock
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnoc
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
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