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Rangers boss Danny Rohl insists his new-look team can move forward with renewed confidence after claiming their first home league win of the season.
A 3-1 triumph over Kilmarnock at Ibrox handed Rohl his first league victory since taking charge of the club last week following the sacking of Russell Martin.
The German head coach saw his side turn in a much-improved display, with the goals coming from Derek Cornelius, Danilo and Youssef Chermiti.
It marked a positive start to a huge week for Rangers, who now head to Easter Road on Wednesday to face Hibs before taking on rivals Celtic in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup at Hampden next weekend.
Rohl made it clear that the victory over Killie was only a small step forward, but believes the confidence and positivity can only be a good thing heading into two huge fixtures.
‘I must say, I really enjoyed our performance,’ said the 36-year-old, who changed the shape of the team after the Europa League defeat to Brann in midweek.
Danny Rohl believes Rangers’ 3-1 win against Kilmarnock at Ibrox will give them confidence
Striker Youssef Chermiti, whose goal rounded off the scoring, has ‘something special’
Derek Cornelius celebrates scoring in Rangers’ first home league victory of the season
It was not perfect but it was a good step forward. The first win is always important for the group to create confidence. Today I saw many more good things.
‘We looked a little bit back on Thursday night and it was a big disappointment, not just from the tactical part but how we played with intensity. This was much better.
It is a small step in our journey, we know where we want to go. We know the league table and we know we needed to get the three points.
It helps to raise the confidence of the group and for me it was important to see a team on the pitch who was working hard, ready to go. I saw some good individual steps forward.
I was really happy with how aggressive we were with our counter-pressing. This is how we want to play going forward.
‘When you take over as head coach and you see the schedule, the pressure is on. Every game is important. This is one step forward for us as a group. We can build on this.
A big, big thank you to the supporters. As I said to my players after the game, they should also really enjoy this moment today.
The last weeks and months have not always been easy, but this is our goal. We want to win games, we want to play attractive football, and we want to do it together with our fans.
‘If you bring everyone closer and closer and we are really strong together, then I think we can really be successful in the future here. Today was a small step, not more, because the journey is still long.
On Monday, we’ll watch the game back, we’ll show them what was good and what we have to improve, and then I want to see the next step again on Wednesday against Hibs.
‘With one win, with one week, you can turn a lot of things around in the right direction. This should be our mentality. Now we have to take the next step.’
A £10million signing from Everton in the summer, Chermiti scored Rangers’ third goal in the second half to see off the challenge of a stubborn Killie side.
A much-maligned figure due to the hefty price tag and his lack of impact so far, Rohl believes a first goal for the club can do wonders for the confidence of the young Portuguese striker.
“I think he is also demanding on himself,” said the new Rangers boss. ‘We will improve him step by step. He has something special.
He still has things to improve, especially with the pressing, but I think he should enjoy the goal today and tomorrow. We can work on the next parts of his game. It’s important to improve self-confidence.’
Meanwhile, Killie boss Stuart Kettlewell said: ‘I think when you concede three goals in the nature that we do, I’d be disappointed if people weren’t angry.
It does have to be constructive. You can be angry and put on a show and pretend that it bothers you.
But it’s fair to say that it has bothered us all, the nature of the goals we’ve conceded in the last two weeks.
That’s hard enough at the best of times, but we’re playing opposition that doesn’t need any encouragement.
They’ve got enough quality to punish you already and the goals are so avoidable.
‘There’s two goals that were also chalked off for Rangers that were also ridiculous and avoidable.’
