The league leaders took a step closer to the title as both Glasgow giants stumbled

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Blair Spittal says Hearts delivered on a pre-match call to crank up the title pressure on Rangers and Celtic by taking full advantage of their earlier kick off.

And the Jambos midfielder insists the league leaders will look to do the exact same this coming weekend. Derek McInnes ’ shocktroops did their job with a solid 1-0 win over Falkirk at Tynecastle on Saturday to stretch their lead over the chasing Glasgow giants who both kicked off 24 hours later.

Celtic lost at home to Hibs while Rangers could only draw at rock bottom Livingston meaning Hearts now hold a four point lead over the Ibrox side – and six over the Hoops. Motherwell are 10 behind with a game in hand and have now crept into contention.

But with Hearts facing Aberdeen this Saturday before the Old Firm lock horns on Sunday that lead could be stretched even further. And Spittal insists the message will be the exact same in the Jambos ranks in the coming days as it was last week.

He said: “Rangers and Celtic both playing on the Sunday, it was nice to know that you’re watching that off the back of a good three points.

“That was the message before the game, make sure that we try and put a wee bit of pressure on. It’s obviously nice knowing that they’re playing Sunday and we’ve done our job. We’ve got to act as if they’re both going to win.

“It’s the same situation we’re going into against Aberdeen. It’s going to be a tough game next week, and we just need to dust ourselves down and make sure we’re ready for that.”

Hearts have now led the table for five months and with 10 games remaining are looking stronger by the week.

They face home games against Aberdeen, Dundee and Motherwell and trips to Kilmarnock and Livingston before the split.

And Spittal added: “We knew it was going to be a tough game on Saturday, at points we made it hard for ourselves, but I thought it was a great three points.

“We’ve got a massive period coming up before the split, so we need to make sure that we win as many games as possible.”

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