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Rangers have been branded “mentally weak” as fizzing Ibrox legend Ally McCoist delivered a scathing assessment of Danny Rohl’s side after Monday’s 2-1 defeat to Premiership table-toppers Hearts all but ended their title hopes.

Second half goals from Stephen Kingsley and Jambos captain Lawrence Shankland cancelled out Dujon Sterling’s opener at Tynecastle as the Gorgie outfit restored their three-point advantage over second-placed Celtic in an exciting end to a season for the ages.

Rangers, meanwhile, have slipped seven points adrift of Hearts with three games remaining and McCoist has praised Derek McInnes’ men for embarking on an “incredible” campaign as they Edinburgh club close in on their first league triumph in 66 years.

Speaking to talkSPORT, McCoist said: “Hearts, great result, fantastic result, I genuinely hope they go on and win it now because they deserve it. They have played Rangers and Celtic combined seven times, and they have won five and drawn one. That in itself is quite incredible. I know they have Celtic to play again in the final game of the season and that could be vital. It might not be, by the way.”

McCoist has admired what Hearts have achieved this term and feels Rangers lack the minerals in their current form to finish champions of Scotland. He has warned Danny Rohl’s squad that they cannot continue to play for 45 minutes and expect to see off the opposition.

He added: “You would think so. The only problem is they look mentally weak. I’m saying they’ve got nothing to play for, which is a ridiculous statement when it’s a Celtic vs Rangers game, but I’m not sure they are mentally strong enough. That is the only thing that would concern me.

“You look at Rangers: 2-0 up against Celtic and played for 45 minutes, 2-0 down at Livingston and played for 45 minutes, Motherwell, 2-0, played for 45 minutes. There is a common them there. They can’t play 90 minutes.”

McCoist is adamant that a lack of a Scottish identity within Rohl’s starting XI has had a detrimental effect on their title credentials.

He said: “First thing I wrote down, no Scotsman, it’s incredible. You can say what you like but it matters. It’s a big thing, it’s a massive thing. Our successful team was filled with Scotsmen, whether it was Gough, Goram, McCall, Durrant, Brown. I could name you eight in the team. To be fair, it was littered with top-class Europeans and others around about it. You’ve got to have Scotsman in your team. They know what it is about.”

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Rangers lack of ‘killer instinct’ evident in Hearts defeat

McCoist also doubled down on his belief that his old club lack mental strength in high-pressured situations and believes it’s a trait which Hearts currently have in abundance.

He added: “Take nothing away from Hearts, different class. Absolutely different class. A spirit to go and play, Rangers dominated (the first half) but that is the problem – there is no killer instinct.

“You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have a will to win, and a mental strength, then you don’t win anything. If you don’t have all the strength and ability, and Rangers don’t have that either, and you’re mentally weak, then you have no chance. That is the one thing Hearts looked in the second half; mentally strong.”