Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants Rangers to 'raise standards' as he assesses win over Hibs

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has urged his players to raise their game even further as they pursue Celtic at the top of the Premiership table.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst saw his team beat Hibs 2-0 at Ibrox. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Scottish champions followed up Sunday’s 5-0 win over Hearts with a 2-0 victory at home to Hibs on Wednesday night, keeping them a point behind Celtic in the title race as they respond to last week’s Old Firm defeat.

Goals from James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos saw off Hibs to leave van Bronckhorst happy but still craving more from his team.

“We were good,” he said. “We started the game really well with the penalty and also some chances were created.

“We put a lot of energy into the game and a lot of pressure. We won a lot of balls in their half, especially in the first half, so the overall performance was really good.

“We created chances. It was 2-0 and we could have scored more but the performance was really good and that was good for us because we needed the points.

"The win against Hearts gave us confidence, We had to react on Sunday, which of course we did in a good manner, so for us it was very important to continue that way of playing.

“We want to raise our standards in every game. This is the level we want with the team.”

Van Bronckhorst praised another impressive display from top scorer Morelos, who took his tally for the season to 16, and whose absence was keenly felt when he missed three league games while with the Colombia squad.

“Alfredo is always a threat in front of goal,” he added. “He has scored three goals in the two game since he came back from international duty.

“You can see we can play through him, especially when teams aren’t placing a lot of pressure on our defence, he is always available to connect with the midfield. We can switch the play through him and get our wingers in spaces where they can attack the defenders. You saw it with the move which got us the penalty for the first goal. The threat we have from both sides really pleased me.”

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