Matthew Lindsay

CRAIG Levein’s departure as Hearts manager won’t have a detrimental impact on the Tynecastle club in the Betfred Cup semi-final on Sunday according to Rangers captain James Tavernier.

The Gorgie Road outfit yesterday revealed that Levein, whose team is second bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership after a disappointing run of form, had been relieved of his duties.

Austin MacPhee, his assistant, will be in the dugout at Hampden for the last four meeting with Steven Gerrard’s side this weekend.

READ MORE: Craig Levein sacked as Hearts manager

But Tavernier can recall what a difficult game his side had against Hearts away in the league last month – they were held to a 1-1 draw by their semi-final opponents

Asked if he thought the sacking of Levein had increased Rangers’ chances of reaching the final, Tavernier replied: “I wouldn’t say so.

“It’s still the same players who gave us a hard game at Tynecastle recently and we’re all 90 minutes away from reaching a cup final so there’s plenty of motivation for them.

“Obviously, the news if fresh and I don’t know if that will affect their squad. We know it’s going to be a tough challenge.

“We didn’t have one of our best days in that 1-1 draw at Tynecastle, but if we can play like we did at Dingwall on Wednesday then we’ll have a really good footing in the game.”

Tavernier, who signed for Rangers back in 2015, feels the Ibrox club are more capable of lifting a major trophy now than at any time during his spell in Scotland.

“I believe we’re better placed to do that than at any time since I signed,” he said. “This is the strongest squad we’ve had in my time here. You can see the depth in it.”