Are Celtic & Rangers starting to click in pursuit of Hearts?

Heart of Midlothian remain unbeaten at the top of the Scottish Premiership but have dropped points in two of their past three outings.

Meanwhile, Celtic and Rangers have each enjoyed maximum hauls since the appointments of Martin O'Neill and Danny Rohl.

Both men are just in the door, while one is an interim stand-in, and there have been Old Firm disappointments in Europe - but is the dial showing signs of shifting domestically?

Hearts are seven points in front of Celtic and 12 better off than Rangers, with the Glasgow duo each having a game in hand.

Goals start to flow for Celtic

When O'Neill took temporary charge of Celtic last month, he walked into a club rocked by internal division, highlighted by the acrimonious nature of Brendan Rodgers' exit.

Hearts had beaten Celtic 3-1 at Tynecastle to go eight points clear, with the 73-year-old parachuted in to steady the ship.

Although they were comprehensively outplayed by Midtjylland on Thursday, O'Neill has delivered on the home front, winning all three of his matches, narrowing the league gap and reaching the Premier Sports Cup final at Rangers' expense.

Celtic's attack has been freed up under the Northern Irishman, with 11 goals scored in those games.

The champions had managed to score just 10 in the final seven domestic matches under Rodgers, with four of them coming in a League Cup victory over Partick Thistle.

O'Neill praised the nature of Celtic's 4-0 win over Kilmarnock on Sunday, but stressed they still have plenty of work to do if they are to defend their title.

"There were some parts of the performance I was absolutely delighted with," he said. "We defended strongly.

"You do need help when you're chasing someone, but there's a long way to go."

On his own future, O'Neill continued to give nothing away, claiming he does not know if he will be in charge at St Mirren in two weeks' time.

If victory over Kilmarnock does prove to be the final match of his second spell at the club, he says he will gladly accept that.

"I'll take a little time in the international break, most of our players will be away, and there will be time of inner reflection," he said.

"It's been a whirlwind of a fortnight, I can't believe it's really happened.

"I genuinely don't know [if I'll be back in two weeks]. If the board make up their mind, it's absolutely fine by me."

Rangers more resolute under Rohl?

Rangers' Premiership points tally has doubled since Danny Rohl arrived.

Three league games, three wins, seven goals scored with just one conceded.

Two clean sheets on the road after a club record run of 23 without one in all competitions.

Supporters sung the German's name with gusto after Sunday's 3-0 victory at Dundee and Rohl is eager to strengthen the early bond.

"I see a lot of togetherness more and more," the 36-year-old said.

"I have great support from my staff and my coaches, and the players are listening. If we can bring this together with our fans, then we are all going in one direction and we can build something here."

Rangers were a muddle of impotent passing for passing's sake under predecessor Russell Martin - but Rohl's messaging appears more pragmatic.

There is greater emphasis on getting the ball into the final third quickly, with players willing to go long.

A determined display at Easter Road showed Rangers can dig in and protect a lead too.

The semi-final defeat by Celtic in extra-time was gritty and Rohl's tactical nous meant his side created good chances when playing the majority of the match with 10 men.

On his promising league start, Rohl added: "I think this is huge, as is keeping clean sheets. That's helpful.

"We know our expectations are high. We want to do more but it takes steps and I think it's important to understand that after wins, we are not straight up in one direction and after we lose it's in another direction.

"We need to have a good balance. At the moment I see forward steps, even if everything is not perfect."

No need for Hearts to panic

Hearts may have seen their lead reduced, but they are yet to lose a league game and can point to good wins against the Old Firm.

Both of O'Neill's Premiership matches have been at home and sterner tests than Falkirk and Kilmarnock await.

Rangers had to rely on a penalty save and Hibs missing a close-range sitter to leave EH7 with a 1-0 win.

We also witnessed Brann and Roma expose Rohl's defence in the same brutal fashion Midtjylland dismantled Celtic.

Hearts travel to Aberdeen and Motherwell next but do not have a European fixture in between like their rivals.

Rangers are a long way back and trail Hibs on goal difference, but will be big favourites to win their impending games at home to promoted duo Livingston and Falkirk.

Celtic's next two assignments are trickier, away to St Mirren and Hibs. If they come through those unscathed, then the race could well be closer come 7 December when Hearts visit Celtic Park.