HEARTS striker Soufian El Hassnaoui believes the SPFL Championship will be his side's to throw away if they beat Rangers on Saturday and go nine points clear.

The Jambos are six points ahead of the Gers heading into the crucial Tynecastle showdown.

A victory would make Robbie Neilson's side clear favourites in the race for the title and guaranteed promotion back to the top flight.

And 25-year-old El Hassnaoui insisted: "If you are nine points clear you can only throw it away. We are confident going into this game.

"The team is in a good mood and that's normal when you're winning."

But El Hassnaoui has stressed Hearts will have to remain fully focused even if they beat Rangers.

The Dutch-born forward said: "It's still early in the season. If we win this game then lose the next one, we will be only six points ahead and that is nothing. It can go in two matches.

"When I came here everyone was talking about the clubs who could be champions. Of course, Rangers were one of them.

"I'm surprised we have a big gap at the moment but anything can happen in football. Maybe it will give us a psychological advantage. All I know is we need to stay focused."

El Hassnaoui reckons Hearts have produced a more attractive brand of football than Rangers in the current campaign.

But he stressed they can also mix it up if the occasion demands it.

He said: "We have a different way of playing to Rangers. They play more with crosses but we play more football.

"For me it's very good, like Dutch football."

‘Hearts v Rangers is exclusively live on BT Sport 1 from 12.00pm on Saturday 22nd November. BT Sport will bring fans live action of five SPFL games before the end of December, including Queen of the South v Rangers (12th December)  and Dundee United v Celtic (21st December). Visit BT Sport.com for more info.’