Steven Davis
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RANGERS boss Walter Smith hailed his have-a-go-heroes last night as they made it 10 wins on the trot in the SPL. The Ibrox side maintained their four-point lead over Celtic and went level on goal difference with the Hoops following a 4-0 demolition of Hearts at Tynecastle. Jean-Claude Darcheville and Nacho Novo both grabbed doubles and Hearts fans stormed out of Tynecastle early as their hopes of a top-six slot hangs in the balance. It was the 10th SPL victory on the spin for Rangers since they drew 1-1 at Aberdeen on December 23 and a declaration of intent for their title ambitions at one of the toughest venues in the Scottish game. Rangers lost 4-2 at the Gorgie ground early in the campaign and Smith admitted the performance of his team then and now was night and day. He said: "We have had two contrasting performances in two games here against Hearts. "The match last September was our poorest of the season and the performance tonight was one of our better displays. Considering the way we played here last time - or didn't play - this was a game we were concerned about but everyone was aware of that. "I hope we continue to play at that level because we did very well and I was delighted with the result. "It was a good performance, right from the start. In the first hour especially we nullified Hearts' strengths and played some good stuff. "And the second goal just before half-time gave us the cushion we were going to need. "It's a nice headache to have with the strikers scoring. "We've maybe not had an out-and-out goalscorer this season but we've had a good spread throughout the team and any time we've asked they've stepped up - none more so than Nacho." Darcheville took his tally to the season to 10 before he was kept inside at half-time as a precaution because of a hamstring strain. Novo then took over and raised his total to nine with his double but it was the two Rangers new boys and skipper Barry Ferguson who caught the eye. Steven Davis gave his best performance in midfield since arriving on loan from Fulham. Christian Dailly was also outstanding in the middle of the park in his first start since joining from West Ham in January. Smith said: "Christian is obviously an experienced player and can play a number of positions, which was always going to be a big benefit. "He showed with his level of performance he has not been affected by his own relative inactivity recently. "Steven seems to be enjoying it here. He's settling and was was excellent tonight." Davis also saluted his new teammates as he was named Setanta man of the match. He said: "This is not an easy place to come but we dug in and put in a top performance. "I knew the lads were turned over here earlier in the season but we won our battle this time and went on to play some good football. "It's a good time to come into the club and exciting as we chase trophies on four fronts. Hopefully I can add to our quality." |
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