Hearts can 'go past' Celtic and Rangers - Dhanda

Yan Dhanda is relishing playing in front of Hearts' fans

Hearts summer signing Yan Dhanda believes the Edinburgh side can "go past" the Old Firm in the Scottish Premiership.

The 25-year-old English midfielder made his debut for Steven Naismith's side as they drew 0-0 in Saturday's league opener at home to last season's runners-up, Rangers.

Asked if Hearts, who were third last season, could challenge the Ibrox side and champions Celtic for the title, the summer arrival from Ross County said: "Yes, definitely. I think we can go past the top two.

"We have shown how good we can be, so what’s stopping us? As long as we keep believing the talent we have in the changing room and the togetherness along with the staff and the group of players, we can do anything this season.

"I think the most important thing is just keep believing and we showed that on Saturday."

Head coach Naismith was content with a point, while Rangers counterpart Philippe Clement thought a draw was "a fair result".

"I thought it went very well," Dhanda said of his debut. "The team looked very good and I thought I had a good game as well.

"I was excited for my first game for Hearts and, even more so, it was live on TV against Rangers.

"I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. I’m a bit gutted we didn’t get the win, but I thought we played very well and that showed how good we are."