But Gers had been well on top before that and Gerrard reckons there was little interim Tynecastle boss Austin MacPhee could have done to stop his side.

MacPhee chose to leave frontman Uche Ikpeazu on the bench in the hope he could bully his way past tiring legs in the closing stages but the ploy backfired as the powerhouse striker played a part in Rangers' opener when he failed to track Helander's run into the box.

Asked if he was shocked by Hearts' line-up, Gerrard said: "The only one surprise probably was Ikpeazu, we thought he would start.

"That's obviously none of my business but that was one surprise.

"But in the main we pretty much predicted what we were going to come up against.

"Credit to Hearts they came and had a go but credit to my players today I think Hearts met Rangers on a bad day.

"I'm delighted, I thought the performance was very strong. We dominated the majority of the game, showed great control and scored the first goal at a very good time just before half-time.

"The game opened up more in the second half and we could show a lot more quality. I thought we looked dangerous every time we went forward. I don't think anyone can say we don't deserve to be in the final.

"To be fair to Hearts, they came and had a go. A lot has been happening at their club over the last few days and you obviously expect a bounce and maybe a positive reaction from that.

"The Hearts players gave their manager everything they've got today but they came up against a team who were too good on the day. We were excellent and deserve to be where we are."