Hearts a phenomenal journey, says Robbie Neilson as MK Dons move looms

Robbie Neilson said his future would be "clarified" on Thursday after guiding Hearts to victory over Rangers.

The 2-0 win moved his side to second in the Premiership, but Neilson is expected to leave to become MK Dons manager.

But Neilson refused to be drawn on that scenario and insisted the focus should be on his players.

"Tonight's about the players, the club, not me," insisted the 36-year-old former Hearts player.

"There's a game on Saturday, they'll need to get ready for that.

"I'll be in tomorrow morning as usual and we'll have discussions and talk about things.

"It's been a phenomenal journey, and tonight's taken the club back where it belongs.

"We've built, we got promoted, and now we're in second place, where Hearts should rightly be at the top end of the table."

Asked about his future, Neilson replied: "It'll get clarified tomorrow, I expect that."

Hearts were impressive as they swept Rangers aside, with Robbie Muirhead scoring in each half to secure the victory.

Neilson said the progress of young players like Muirhead, John Souttar and Jamie Walker was a sign of the foundations built at the club, but he warned that patience will also be required as they develop further.

"It was a great performance, a performance of a young team that came together and progressed," he said.

"You could go through the whole team and pick them all out and say they had a great game.

"It's going to be difficult because it's a young team. [Callum] Paterson, [Liam] Smith, Souttar, Walker, Muirhead. There will be ups and downs so it's important that there's patience and the fans get behind them.

"We saw tonight what they're capable of. When Rangers and Celtic come to town, they bring the quality, the pressure, the intensity and it can be difficult for young players to handle it, but they proved that they can handle it.

"I've not walked away yet. It's about [owner] Ann Budge, [fans group] the Foundation of Hearts, the fans and the players, not anybody else.

"The journey we've been on is phenomenal and I've been lucky to have been part of it."