AT the end of a chaotic night at Tynecastle, it was fitting that it should be Olwethu Makhanya who got Rangers out of jail.

With only a couple of minutes remaining, Makhanya rose at the back post to loop a header into the far corner and snatch a point for a Rangers team who had been deeply unimpressive over the 90 minutes.

Imperious pretty much from the moment he arrived from Philadelphia Union in the summer, the 22-year-old South African centre-back was once again Rangers’ best player on the night.

Even accounting for the concession of two goals, neither of which were remotely his fault, it was another performance which underscored the fact Rangers will bank a hefty profit on a player signed for just £3million.

Had it not been for Makhanya, and not just in terms of his late equaliser, Hearts would almost certainly have won the game.

As for the supporting cast around him, the performances of Manny Fernandez and Dujon Sterling came in for a lot of criticism.

It was another error-strewn display from Fernandez, which has largely been the story of his season so far, and the normally-dependable Sterling was also at fault for one of Hearts’ goals.

Derek McInnes was asked in his post-match media conference about Makhanya, a player who is emerging as the early front-runner for the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award along with Celtic’s Camilo Duran.

‘I thought he was outstanding,’ said the Rangers boss. ‘And he had to be — because we weren’t as assured around him at times.’

It hardly required the detective skills of Poirot to understand exactly who McInnes was talking about.

Fernandez was guilty on several occasions of dilly-dallying on the ball and inviting pressure from the Hearts press.

It was his mistake after only a few minutes that put Nico Raskin in trouble and ended up with the Belgian midfielder picking up a booking for a cynical foul on Claudio Braga.

Raskin turned round immediately and gave Fernandez a piece of his mind, a frustration that was no doubt shared among the Rangers support.

Fernandez was weak for both of Hearts’ goals and the same could be said of Sterling as Calvin Miller drilled home to put Hearts 2-1 up.

Curiously, McInnes seemed to have changed his tune slightly yesterday when he spoke to the media, issuing a passionate defence of Fernandez. But that was just a manager trying to defend a player whom he knows is taking a lot of heat at the moment.

Deep down, McInnes will surely recognise that he now has a decision on his hands with Fernandez.

With Ben Godfrey now fit again, the question of who partners Makhanya in central defence for the rest of the season is valid.

Fernandez had a spell last season where he looked dominant and assured on the ball. There was talk of a big-money move, with interest, apparently, from clubs in England and Europe.

But that has all gone quiet now. By and large, his form has been poor this season. He is too lackadaisical and too error-prone.

There are times when it looks like he makes team-mates around him nervous, which is never a good trait for a centre-back.

Too often, he looks like an accident waiting to happen. This is the risk that McInnes now has heading into tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen at Hampden.

The longer he persists with Fernandez, the more it feels like a howler could be on the cards at any moment.

He can defend him all he wants. As manager, that’s his prerogative. But you can’t pull the wool over punters’ eyes.

They know what they are watching. On current form, it is difficult to make a case for Fernandez retaining his place in the team.

Viewing him as a sellable asset, Rangers are obviously keen to keep on playing him in order to continue his development and inflate his transfer value. But there comes a point when that becomes counter-productive. His value is not increasing at present because he is fundamentally not playing well enough.

Eventually, it will all boil down to a very simple question. Who does McInnes trust in the heat of a title race: Fernandez or Godfrey?

Godfrey is a one-time England international. For all he may have lost his way in recent years, he is still a player of good pedigree.

Given his history of injuries, the issue will be whether he can stay fit and be robust enough to partner Makhanya for the rest of the season.

McInnes certainly has a big call to make heading into the clash with an Aberdeen side who are woefully out of form.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway to come from Tynecastle on Wednesday night was Rangers’ inability to show that they can keep the pedal to the metal in the title race.

Beyond the fact they were able to salvage a point via a late equaliser, the reality was that they failed to capitalise on Celtic’s slip-up against Dundee United.

This was against a Hearts team ravaged by injuries, with eight first-team regulars out of action for Wouter Vrancken’s side.

It was actually quite damning that Makhanya spoke afterwards and questioned the mentality of those around him. He cited a ‘lack of character’ as Rangers toiled for long periods after taking an early lead through Kevin Kelsy.

Given some of the excuses trotted out by Rangers players in recent years, it was actually refreshing to hear a player speak with such honesty.

Asked about the issue yesterday, McInnes said: ‘Yeah, I got told about Makka’s comments. I think there was a period in the game where it looked as if we were second best.

‘The running stats will tell you we weren’t, but I do think that it’s too easy to point fingers at character, and that’s a word that gets bandied about here. We’ve got plenty of character.

‘We’ve shown that already this season, with character to bounce back and get a result when it looked as if we weren’t going to get that. Lads never give up.

‘There’s a real determination and sheer will about them, but at times in the game we have to acknowledge that we weren’t good enough, both technically and physically.

‘I thought we were getting outmuscled at times and not getting to the break of the ball quick enough, a bit slow to anticipate. We were more reacting to things. I thought Hearts were on the front foot a wee bit more, ready to play the way the game was playing.

‘Sometimes it can come across that way. We’re learning about these boys on the job, and the experiences of these games will hopefully help us.’

Given that he has been Rangers’ best player this season by quite some distance, Makhanya can operate from a position of authority on these matters.

He is right to question the mentality of those around him. The reality is that Rangers do not look convincing enough to go and grab the bull by the horns in this title race.

Aberdeen will present another test in the sense that it’s a game Rangers will be fully expected to win, given the current malaise around the Dons.

Can they handle the pressure? It’s a question that few Rangers fans would answer with any certainty for as long as Fernandez remains part of the equation.