Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson is relishing an eye-catching trip to Rangers on the opening day of the Scottish Championship campaign before tackling Edinburgh rivals Hibernian at Tynecastle a week later.

The popular belief that the second tier will be the most exciting league in Scotland next season was given credence when the fixtures were released yesterday.

Defending Premiership champions Celtic were drawn at home to Partick Thistle on Saturday, August 9th, but, owing to a clash with the Commonwealth Games, the match has already been postponed.

As such, Norwegian boss Ronny Deila – Neil Lennon’s replacement – will first enter the dugout for a league match on Wednesday, August 13th, at St Johnstone.

That leaves much of the attention on Saturday, August 9th, focused on Ibrox where Ally McCoist’s Rangers meet the Jambos for the first time since April 2012, while Hibs will be at home to Livingston.

Neilson told Hearts News: "I'm delighted with the fixtures – it's a great start for us. Right at the start we have high-quality matches and they give us the chance to lay down a marker for the rest of the season. To be honest, it doesn't matter who you get in the first two games of the season, they are just as important as any other, but having Rangers and Hibs in the first two adds a little bit more to it as we know they are great games to be involved in.

“ All the players will be desperate to be involved in them so they will have to work hard and be prepared in pre-season.” – (PA)