The feeling Hearts will be looking to avoid in Rangers semi

It was the feeling felt as they trudged off the park on their last trip to Hampden Park. Despite going into half-time at 0-0 against Rangers in the Viaplay Cup semi-final in November, Hearts would ultimately go down 3-1 with a meek second-half display.

Steven Naismith's men didn't really lay a glove on their opponents. The game plan wasn't executed the way that was hoped. For Lawrence Shankland, there was a despondency after the match because "we felt like we didn't really give it a go".

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"The feeling of regret when you came off the pitch was probably the biggest thing," he said ahead of the weekend's encounter. "We felt like we didn't really give it a go. Whether that be down to our game plan not working or it was a wee bit off. I think that is the first thing we will look to improve on.

"Try and put a bit of a stamp on the game and give ourselves a chance of going through. We felt as a group we didn't give ourselves the best chance that day. Hopefully we can improve."

There was a key addition: "We feel like we are going into it in a better state."

That there is no doubt. Across the past 23 league matches Hearts have picked up just three points fewer than Rangers who are looking to bounce back following a defeat and draw at Ross County and Dundee respectively.

Shankland, however, doesn't necessarily subscribe to the theory that it is a good time to play Rangers because of their form, wary they could see this as an opportunity to take a break from the league and to get their season up and running.

"People always create a narrative on the outside that it is always good to play teams when they are not at their best." The Hearts captain said. "They have not become a bad team overnight. This might be a good break for them to get away from the league and play in the cup.

"There is definitely opportunity there and you need to analyse how teams have caused them problems and see if you can implement that in the game at the weekend and if you can it can give you a chance.

"Of course, it is better to play them now rather than when they are firing on all cylinders but I wouldn't act as if it is going to be an easier game than it would usually be.

"There is a lot of pressure on the game, for both teams. Rangers' last two results will add to that due to the scrutiny they will be under in the league. We can't look into that too much. We can maybe use it to our advantage at the time of the game and if the pressure increases throughout the game it could help us. But it is not something we can go and rely on, we need to put our game plan."

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On a personal level, it represents an opportunity for Shankland to get into his first-ever major final. He provided the reminder that his "Hampden record is brilliant actually" because of his time spent with Queen's Park when he helped the Spiders finish third in League Two when Rangers were part of the division but less so when it comes to the cup competition.

"I think I’ve only been two or three times in terms of the cups," he said.

"You watch games on telly when you’re younger and obviously you think it would be great to play at Hampden in a cup final. But your career can take you in different directions at times. You never know. You can’t take these kind of opportunities for granted. They don’t come around too often.

"You want to be in the big cups but I haven’t had the opportunity in terms of the clubs I have been at. The teams I have played for haven’t had a real chance, it’s difficult when you’re playing in the lower leagues or for a lower-end team.

"The one I got close to was the Hibs one during Covid. I didn’t enjoy it, to be honest, the stadium was empty, it wasn’t the same.

"This is an opportunity and if I can get to a final, great. We’ve done well in the cups to get this far. Semi-finals are always difficult games, there’s lots of pressure around them. One moment of magic or madness can decide it. You need a little bit of luck as well. Hopefully, things can fall for us."