HEARTS have come through the injustice and the most difficult times in their history. Now all Michael Beale sees - for the club and manager Robbie Neilson - is opportunity in a bright future.

All roads could lead to Hampden and the top job in the country for Neilson. At Tynecastle, the chance to win silverware should be grasped rather than dismissed.

Beale was candid enough to admit he 'got a little bit of stick for getting that wrong' after claiming that Aberdeen were the third best side in the country ahead of the Viaplay Cup semi-finals last month. Within days, Hearts had thumped the Dons 5-0 and third place in the Premiership will be theirs once again this term.

Beale sent his Jambos counterpart a message, via a mutual friend, to apologise his erroneous observation. On Monday, he spoke in glowing terms about the job that Neilson has done as he prepares to go head-to-head with the 42-year-old for the first time as a manager.

These fixtures are always stand-out occasions on the calendar and the next 90 minutes will be the sternest test - outside of the Old Firm draw at Ibrox - that Rangers have faced under their new boss. If Rangers are to keep their slim title ambitions on track, it is another must-win.

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That was the case on Beale's last trip to Tynecastle. A 1-0 defeat in February 2020 ended their Scottish Cup bid and saw Steven Gerrard cast doubt on his future as manager as he cut a frustrated and disconsolate figure in the media room.

Asked about that afternoon, Beale admitted 'it wasn’t a very good day that one, was it?' Three years on, Hearts find themselves in an even stronger position and as the club and their boss continue to go from strength to strength.

"Listen, I think Robbie has been going great guns with Hearts," Beale said. "And I honestly believe that European football, group stage football, really kicks you up a notch in terms of belief because you play teams outside of Scotland and bring the belief back.

“You see different things and once you have smelled that and tasted it, it is something you want again moving forward.

“It is no surprise to me why their form has been really good and Robbie has done a good job in both times he has been at Hearts. He is probably one the SFA have got eyes on down the road as well.”

That suggestion speaks volumes about Beale's admiration for the work that Neilson has done since his return to Tynecastle. As his stock has risen, the fortunes of Hearts on and off the field have also been on a positive trajectory and victory over Rangers this evening would be a statement of just where Neilson's side are on their journey.

Neilson had mixed tenures at MK Dons and Dundee United between leaving Gorgie in 2016 and returning four years later. He will still have ambitions and unfinished business at club level but international recognition could follow for a man who made just one appearance for his country - in a defeat to Ukraine - during his playing career.

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"I look and I think he is getting experience playing in Europe, it is his second time there," Beale said. "He has build the strongest squad that Hearts have had in a long time.

"I met Robbie many years ago when he came down to spend a day at Liverpool. He came down and I met him then, that was the first time I had come across him. Didn’t really speak to him much, just said hello, and then you follow people’s careers.

"He had a go down at MK Dons and has come back and done ever such a good job, taken them into Europe and they have got a strong squad that are playing well so I’m looking at the younger Scottish coaches.

“I think (Steve) Clarke is doing a great job but I’m sure they are looking and thinking ‘okay who have we got from the next generation' and I think he’d be in the thinking for sure."

Such comments will no doubt be appreciated but put to one side by Neilson as he focuses on the job in hand. Third place will surely be secured sooner rather than later and the Scottish Cup dream is still alive in the maroon half of Edinburgh.

Hearts have come a long way in a relatively short space of time. As Beale was helping mastermind a 55th title triumph, Neilson was guiding his side out of the Championship two seasons ago as Hearts recovered from a controversial, even shameful, episode in Scottish football.

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Rangers were incensed when the campaign that saw Covid hit was called and Celtic were awarded the Premiership. Yet those feelings were nothing compared to the concoction of emotions that saw Hearts relegated on a points per game basis and forced to suck up a bodyblow that they have recovered from admirably under the guidance of Neilson and Ann Budge.

"That was the biggest injustice of that season, for sure," Beale said. "I thought at the time, you can’t relegate a team like that. We were going into an uncertain time with Covid and we didn’t know how the game was going to be afterwards.

“We know we are in a country where the finances are not what they are just over the border. I thought that was particularly a tough decision at the time, it was probably not in the spirit of the game. I don’t want to take that too far but I thought it was really uncomfortable at the time watching that.”

Those difficult days are now behind Hearts and the present offers hope of what could follow in the years to come. For Beale, a shot at glory is not out of the question.

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Hearts are not capable of competing with the Old Firm over the course of a campaign right now, although Beale does expect Neilson's side to have a go on home soil this evening.

The Tynecastle atmosphere is one which Beale savours. He hopes to quieten it over the next 90 minutes but believes the home crowd could one day have something significant to cheer.

“I think so," Beale said when asked if Hearts could ever challenge for the Premiership title. "I think it is almost taking a leap of faith in terms of a manager and style of play and maybe holding on to one or two.

“I think Ann, over the years, has had some tough times and outside of the games we play against them, I am actually quite pleased for her as well that the club is doing well. She has given the club as much as she could.”