Giovanni van Bronckhorst provided a particularly strong response when asked about Rangers remaining title credentials, ahead of the World Cup break and a seven point deficit.
Prior to the game, the manager was rightly focussed on the main priority of securing three points against Hearts, which was achieved thankfully, with the same required from the lunchtime meeting with St Mirren on Saturday.
Now, instead of concentrating on that next step, the old one game at a time cliche, Gio went in big and bold when he was asked if the title race is still on:
“Of course, it’s still on. We have to show that every game and give everything we have to win the games we play. That’s the same for Saturday, we forget about this game and prepare well for St Mirren and try to get the three points.”
It certainly presented a headline!
Whilst it would be foolish and wrong for the manager to say that the title was already over, given the dreadful, poor form of this Rangers team recently, it would have been more fitting to ‘read the room’ with an emphasis of building consitency with a run of wins as well as concentrating on the job in hand. If Gio’s team lose any more points, they can forget it.
Any title talk seems a bit premature until this current Rangers team shows that it has what it takes, including the manager, to be truly involved at the business end of the season.
Prior to that, there is so much to unfold over the coming months.