Gerrard salutes new boy Hagi after Rangers win
Steven Gerrard hailed new signing Ianis Hagi as he provided the spark to help earn Rangers a massive three points against Hibernian on Wednesday night.
Gers, who have got the new year off to a disappointing start, were in danger of seeing title rivals Celtic disappear over the horizon as they struggled to breakdown a resolute Hibs side at Ibrox.
Paul Hanlon had fired Jack Ross’ Leith outfit ahead but while George Edmundson levelled just before the break, frustration soon grew amongst the Light Blues faithful the longer their side went without a second goal.
But all those fears were washed away as on-loan Genk ace Hagi fired home his first goal for the club with a sublime first-time finish six minutes from time.
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Speaking after the game, Gerrard said there is no doubting the ability Hagi has, and he will get even better once he has settled into the hustle and bustle of Scottish football.
“Second half he was much stronger,” Gerrard said. “He’s a brave player. He’ll receive the ball in any situation, in any area of the pitch. Even if he makes a mistake, he won’t shy away. His second half performance deserved to win the match. He was outstanding.”
Gerrard admitted Gers were lacking creativity in the final third after seeing them slip-up against both Hearts and Aberdeen.
They remain seven points behind their Old Firm rivals with a game in hand but the Ibrox boss was delighted to see his side get their rewards for a dominant display against Hibs.
“I’m very happy obviously it’s a big win, three important points,” he said, “It’s exactly what we needed. We got out of the game what we deserved. The second half performance was lot more like us.
“We got frustrated in the first half and tried to complicate things. We could feel the groans and frustrations of fans. I asked the players at half-time to lift the crowd and get back to the performances from earlier in the season. We deserved to win by more.”
