The Ibrox skipper has been hammered for his role in his side’s collapse in the capital that has all but ended their championship aspirations
20:10, 04 May 2026Updated 20:27, 04 May 2026
James Tavernier(Image: SNS Group)
Chris Sutton has slammed James Tavernier for ‘killing’ Rangers title hopes in their crushing 2-1 defeat to Hearts.
The Celtic hero insists he has the “heart the size of a pea” with a withering assessment of the Rangers captain.
The Light Blues had led 1-0 at Tynecastle thanks to Dujon Sterling’s deflected opener but shipped two second half goals to leave them seven points adrift of the Jambos at the summit with three games left to play.
Stephen Kingsley levelled things up nine minutes after the restart before Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland completed the comeback with a superb strike 19 minutes from time to send the Tynecastle faithful into a frenzy.
Last month, Rangers captain Tavernier announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season when his contract expires, calling time on his 12 year spell with the club.
And Celtic hero Sutton insists the 34-year-old’s slack defending on both goals cost his team dearly, describing the right back as having a ‘heart the size of a pea’.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “James Tavernier, that sums him up at Rangers.
“He’s got a heart the size of a pea, he really does. He’s bad on both goals.
“He should react and smell the danger to try and block it but he doesn’t. He is so lax there and has killed his team today.
“Mentality all comes from the captain. We saw the pathetic efforts from James Tavernier for both goals and that’s what killed them.
“They have spent a fortune this season, so there will be questions asked. This isn’t a one-off, Rangers choking.”
Ibrox legend Kris Boyd was also on punditry duty and credited winning gaffer McInnes for turning things round after a challenging first half for the hosts.
Chris Sutton(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
He added: “It’s all about that mentality that we spoke about. Rangers in the first half were so far in front and Hearts were lucky to still be in the game.
“But fair play to Derek McInnes, he went in there (at half-time), galvanised his team and they came back out and ran all over the top of Rangers.”
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