‘I put myself behind the queue’ - Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst plays down importance of Hearts win

Giovanni van Bronckhorst played down the personal significance of Rangers’ 1-0 win over Hearts at Ibrox and issued a defiant stance on the Scottish Premiership title race.

The Light Blues struggled to create many opportunities in the first-half and looked as though they could drop points for the third time in four matches but a moment of inspiration from Malik Tillman after the break was enough to secure maximum points and remain seven points off leaders Celtic at the summit.

With one round of fixtures remaining before domestic football shuts down for the FIFA World Cup, a victory over the Jambos provided a much-needed confidence boost to the Gers boss and his players.

Given the predicament the Dutchman finds himself in on the back of recent results and performances, Van Bronckhorst could be afforded a slightly wider smile at the full-time whistle as he celebrated a vitally important triumph.

He admitted: “I am a coach who always speaks about the club and the team and less about from the personal side. I am happy for the win first of goal for my club and for my team and the players and everyone involved in the club. I always put myself behind the queue, that’s my character. But of course I am happy for myself that we won but only as the last person.

“Our energy and workrate was very good. We started really well and in some transition moments we created good space but didn’t turn those chances into goals. We did much better in the second half with our positional sense in the final third against opposition who defended quite deep.

“Our attacking players always looked a threat and we had to be really focused. In the end, we tried to score a second goal but we also didn’t give any chances away during the last 20 minutes.

“Of course it (title race) is still on. We have to show that in every game and give everything we have to win the games we play. That is the same for Saturday. We forget about this game, prepare well for St Mirren and try to get three points. We can then rest and recover a bit during the five-week break before our next competitive game.”

Van Bronckhorst highlighted Ryan Kent’s contribution as a decisive factor in his side’s victory, insisting the winger carried out his instructions perfectly after the break.

The Englishman has been one of several players under scrutiny for allowing his performance levels to drop significantly this season but he provided the spark required by racing past three Hearts players before picking out Borna Barisic in the lead up to Tillman’s winner.

Van Bronckhorst added: “Ryan’s performance should give him confidence. I talk a lot with him and in the second half he was much more of a threat. We all know what he’s capable of. I said to him the quicker you go to goal the better for the team. It’s pleasing because he kept working hard and gave the energy to try and create chances.”