Oh Hyeon-gyu capitalised on a rare start to hit a double as Celtic consolidated their position at the top of the cinch Premiership with a 4-1 victory over Hibernian at Parkhead.

Oh got the final touch on Celtic’s opener from a fifth-minute set-piece before hitting the fourth shortly before making way for Kyogo Furuhashi.

Matt O’Riley’s header and a Luis Palma penalty had extended Celtic’s lead in between the South Korean’s goals.

Substitute Christian Doidge netted a consolation for Hibs to give them some reward for Nick Montgomery’s attempts to build from the back and utilise his many attacking players.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers brought in Tomoki Iwata, Mikey Johnston and Oh, who had one start between them this season.

Iwata came into the holding midfield role for his first start under Rodgers, allowing Callum McGregor to push further forward. Johnston was making his first start since February 2022, after making three substitute appearances since his return from a loan spell at Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes.

The champions got an early settler when Cameron Carter-Vickers got on the end of Palma’s corner and hit a shot which skimmed off Oh’s leg and beat David Marshall.

Oh was on the end of several crosses without seriously threatening before Marshall parried McGregor’s 25-yard strike.

The second goal came in the 36th minute when O’Riley timed his run perfectly to head home Palma’s cross after the winger had turned Lewis Miller inside out.

There were more chances at either end before the break. Alistair Johnston and Carter-Vickers both almost converted balls across the face of goal while Joe Hart made a good stop from Elie Youan.

Nat Phillips replaced Carter-Vickers at half-time and Celtic went further ahead in the 51st minute when Palma sent Marshall the wrong way from the spot.

Referee John Beaton was initially unconvinced over Lewis Stevenson’s challenge on Alistair Johnston but he did not take long to change his mind after being called to the VAR monitor by Gavin Duncan.

Oh netted four minutes later when he got on the end of McGregor’s ball down the left channel, brushed off Will Fish and guided the ball into the far corner.

Youan hit the post with a deflected effort before the wide player set up substitute Doidge for a 72nd-minute tap-in with a return pass.

Australian winger Marco Tilio had come on in the 63rd minute for Celtic for his second appearance for the club. The Australian winger created a decent shooting chance for himself but shot weakly at Marshall from 20 yards.

Celtic came closer when Marshall stopped Palma’s free-kick and both Furuhashi and Iwata missed glorious late chances.

Inside Easter Road reminders are everywhere, including on the mouse mats, of what is expected at Hibernian.

Doing the small things, humility without an ego, and reinforcing a demanding but healthy culture sit alongside the desire to consistently qualify for Europe and close the gap on Celtic and Rangers.

On Wednesday, boss Nick Montgomery – three months into his reign – gets the chance to test their progress again.

Under chief executive Ben Kensell, Hibs’ internal mantra is to be the club which dares to do things differently. It is up to Montgomery to ensure it happens on the pitch ahead of the trip to Celtic.

“It’s very hard but you only have to look at Leicester in the Premier League, no-one really expected them to do that (winning in 2016),” the former Sheffield United midfielder tells the PA news agency.

“Every club in every league will see that as an inspirational story. Is it sustainable? No, it’s hard to be sustainable because look at where Leicester are now but that’s a one-off example.

“You can only try to achieve the best positions every season. It’s not easy to compete against the two giants of the division, but that’s something every team aspires to do.

“I’m not saying we can compete on any level with them financially, budget-wise that’s never going to happen.

“What we can do is make sure we have a team competitive enough to make sure we’re competing in every game.”

The long-term plans stem from Kensell, who has laid important foundations at Easter Road and was key in helping bring Montgomery to Edinburgh from Central Coast Mariners in September after Lee Johnson’s departure.

Former Reading manager Brian McDermott also joined as director of football in May.

Kensell was a driving force behind commercial and on pitch success at Norwich, as chief operating officer, before leaving in 2021. He helped oversee two promotions to the Premier League and guided them through the pandemic as part of the club’s executive committee.

Another of the 10 points at Easter Road which underline the demand on staff is “enjoy what you do, work hard, play hard and smile”. It is something which resonates with Montgomery and translates into what he is doing on the pitch.

“In the time I’ve been here we’ve had a lot of progress in terms of an identity on the pitch, off it we want people to enjoy it but also know it’s going to be hard work,” he says, from his office at the snow-covered training ground in Tranent.

“The first thing is getting to know people, what their strengths and weaknesses are and creating a team environment but one where everyone demands off each other.

“The boys are a tight-knit group, we have brought in a couple of speakers and sports psychologists to talk to them about bonding and how you can become stronger.

“That’s my job, to make sure that happens, to create an environment where everyone feels they can be themselves.”

Montgomery won Central Coast Mariners’ first A-League title in 10 years last season and has now been joined by wife Josie and daughters Eva, Chloe and Leah, who watched their first game, Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Aberdeen, after flying from Australia.

A third straight win left Hibs two points behind third-placed Hearts and Montgomery believes it is just the beginning.

“Everybody knows there are two massive teams in the league but you want to be up there challenging,” he said.

“We want to become a club with an identity, a club that develops players, one which can sell players to the biggest leagues in the world and reinvest back into the academy and the foundations.

“We want to keep growing the fanbase and the community and give everyone a club to be proud of.”

Barry Robson claimed Aberdeen were “by far the better team” after they lost 2-0 away to Hibernian.

The Dons found home goalkeeper David Marshall in inspired form as they spurned a host of chances – including a late penalty from Bojan Miovski – on a frustrating day at Easter Road.

A goal in each half from Dylan Vente and Will Fish proved enough to make it three wins on the spin for Hibs, who tightened their grip on fifth place in the cinch Premiership and closed the gap on St Mirren above them.

“That’s probably the best we’ve played since I’ve been in the job,” insisted Reds boss Robson.

“I know people will say ‘but you lost the game’ and all that – I get that – but if we’re going to come to Hibs away and have 24 shots and dominate the whole game, I think we’re doing something right.

“I think it tells a story that their goalkeeper was given man of the match. We were all there, we all saw it, we were by far the better team.

“We know that, everybody knows that. But we’ve not come away with the points and that’s the important thing.

“We can sit and talk about all the chances we created, the missed penalty and losing two sucker-punch goals but football’s about winning matches.”

Aberdeen remain 10th with just three wins from their 13 league matches so far, but Robson is confident their situation will improve.

“We’ve not got what we deserved out of a lot of games this season,” he said. “Obviously there have been games where we need to be better but we had 24 shots here.

“I’ve got to give the players credit for that but I’ve also got to remember that we need to win games.

“We understand we need to get points and catch up. We’ve still got a couple of games in hand as well. But if they give me that type of performance, we will win games.”

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery agreed Aberdeen were unfortunate not to take anything but he was keen to point out that his team endured a similar sense of frustration when losing 1-0 to the Dons in the Viaplay Cup semi-final last month.

“I’d agree, they played really well,” said Montgomery. “I wouldn’t say they were the better team but they’ll be disappointed they didn’t get anything out of the game.

“But on the reverse, if you remember the semi-final, we were by far the better team and we lost that game 1-0. Aberdeen were good today and it probably wasn’t our prettiest performance.

“We definitely have to thank David Marshall. He’s a top-class goalkeeper and I thought he was outstanding. The penalty save summed up his performance.”

Goalkeeper David Marshall produced an inspired performance as Hibernian defeated Aberdeen 2-0 at Easter Road to make it three wins on the spin.

Striker Dylan Vente set the hosts on their way with his first goal since September before Will Fish’s second-half header sealed the points and tightened the Edinburgh side’s grip on fifth spot in the cinch Premiership.

Hibs were indebted to former Scotland goalkeeper Marshall who pulled off a string of vital blocks, including a penalty save from Bojan Miovski as the frustrated Dons remained 10th in the table, just three points off the bottom.

Home boss Nick Montgomery made two tweaks to the side that started last weekend’s 2-1 win at Dundee as Rory Whittaker and Lewis Stevenson replaced Jordan Obita and the suspended Lewis Miller.

There were eight changes to Aberdeen the side that started Thursday’s Europa Conference League dead-rubber away to HJK Helsinki, with goalkeeper Kelle Roos plus centre-backs Slobodan Rubezic and Richard Jensen the only players to remain in the team that kicked off the 2-2 draw in Finland.

After a bright start from Hibs, Aberdeen grew into the game and Ester Sokler threatened twice from inside in the box, with his angled shot deflected behind before he sent an acrobatic attempt that went harmlessly wide.

The Dons were caught out in the 17th minute, however, as the hosts went ahead with some direct football. Rubezic failed to deal with a long ball up the centre of the pitch from Marshall, and Martin Boyle ran clear before drawing Roos and squaring it into the path of Vente, who slammed the ball into the empty net.

After a VAR check for a possible offside, the goal stood.

Hibs almost doubled their lead on the half-hour when Jair Tavares saw a shot from just inside the box charged down by Stefan Gartenmann after Hibs did well to create an opening.

Aberdeen tried to summon a response and both Jamie McGrath and Miovski were denied by brilliant saves from Marshall within the space of five minutes.

At the other end, Fish headed just wide from a Joe Newell free-kick moments before the interval.

Aberdeen dominated the early stages of the second half and spurned some golden opportunities to draw level.

Miovski had an effort ruled out following a foul on Marshall in the build-up before James McGarry blazed the ball over from inside the box after being played in on the left.

Marshall then did superbly to tip Miovski’s cushioned volley on to the inside of the post in the 63rd minute, before Fish slid in to clear the loose ball off the line just as Sokler looked set to force it home.

It proved a pivotal moment as Hibs doubled their advantage in the 70th minute when Fish headed in Boyle’s corner at the back post.

Aberdeen had a chance to get themselves back in the game seven minutes later when they were awarded a penalty after the ball struck Stevenson’s hand in the box but Marshall pulled off another crucial save as he got down to his right to push out Miovski’s spot-kick.

The goalkeeper continued to frustrate the Dons in the closing stages, with three more impressive saves to deny Jack Milne, Connor Barron and Leighton Clarkson.

Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery described Martin Boyle as a “special player” after the forward provided a superb assist for Josh Campbell to score the only goal of the game against Kilmarnock.

The Australia international, who also had an earlier effort ruled out for offside, sped forward with a forceful run from the centre-circle before teeing up his team-mate from close range.

Campbell’s effort after 36 minutes proved to be decisive as Hibs collected their first cinch Premiership victory in seven outings to move within a point of sixth-placed Killie.

Montgomery said: “Martin is a special player and we have to protect him. Coming off in the semi-final (against Aberdeen) he took a little knock.

“We can’t take risks on a player of Martin’s stature at the club and it was the right decision to leave him on the bench at St Mirren.

“It freshened him up and he has had a disallowed goal, possible penalty call and a couple at the end where he just lost his footing.

“Martin is a big player for us and it’s important that we don’t take risks when it’s not necessary.”

Montgomery admitted he was still reluctant to allow Boyle to join up with Australia after picking up a knee issue in last weekend’s Viaplay Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen.

He added: “I’m not the doctor but I will go down and have that conversation. If he’s fit, no problem, he’ll be raring to go with the Socceroos.

“If not, he’ll probably stay. Getting through 90 minutes probably tells you he’ll be desperate to go, and he’s a big player for them as well.

“If it was up to me, he’d stay and we’d rest him! But they’ve got good medical staff there and hopefully it’s two weeks of him recovering for a few days, and getting some minutes.”

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes admits Boyle’s moment of brilliance was the difference between the teams.

He said: “We should have done better in dealing with the initial move when Boyle got on the half turn.

“I saw when he was rested against St Mirren, I thought they should have let him run riot against Stevie’s (Robinson) team and left him on the bench against us.

“He’s the one that makes the difference and his part in the goal was decisive for them.

“The game was decided by a big moment with Boyle at the heart of it.

“But we are disappointed we didn’t manage to take anything from a game I felt we could have.

“We were just looking for those moments of quality.”

Josh Campbell scored the only goal of the game to see off St Johnstone and hand Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery his first Premiership victory in seven games.

The midfielder slotted home from close range after Martin Boyle did brilliantly to tee up his team-mate.

The result moves the Easter Road club to within a point of sixth place Kilmarnock in the cinch Premiership.

Kilmarnock played well in patches but their long wait for a win in Leith was stretched to 10 games.

In a bright start to the match Jair Tavares went close with a solo effort from outside the area after four minutes.

The Portuguese winger got away from Joe Wright with a neat bit of skill but his curling effort flew just past the top corner.

Hibs forward Boyle then had the ball in the net moments later but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Kilmarnock gave as good as they got during the early exchanges and Liam Donnelly should have done better with a half-volley at the back post that he fired over from a Daniel Armstrong corner.

At the other end, Boyle raced clear after Donnelly had a square pass cut out but the Australia international lost his footing in the box as he was chased down by Stuart Findlay.

But the hosts were not to be denied in the 36th minute as Boyle provided a great assist for Campbell.

The pacey forward spun away in a congested centre circle and rode a cynical challenge from Donnelly that earned the midfielder a retrospective booking.

Boyle then flicked a pass to Campbell inside the area and the midfielder placed a low drive past Will Dennis.

Kilmarnock brought on Matty Kennedy for Donnelly at the break as they looked to get a foothold in the game.

But the visitors struggled to create any meaningful opportunities in a second half that lacked entertainment at both ends.

Tavares went close for Hibs again with an effort from outside the box but Dennis did brilliantly to push the shot round the post for a corner.

With Hibs having surrendered winning positions in their last two league games, tensions grew among the home fans as the match approached the closing stages.

Campbell was denied a second goal in the 86th minute when his stinging drive from outside the box was repelled by Dennis.

Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall then made a save at his near post to keep out Rory McKenzie.

Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery admitted he was frustrated at his side’s failure to close out victory at St Mirren.

Hibs looked set for a first win in seven games only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser to Lewis Jamieson to draw 2-2.

Goals from Josh Campbell and Joe Newell – either side of Mark O’Hara’s penalty – had Hibs in control before Jamieson struck with his first ever St Mirren goal.

Montgomery said: “It’s another game we could have got three points out of, but we only have ourselves to blame.

“We can talk about managing the game and finishing it off and I thought we had plenty of chances to do that even in the first half. We were outstanding.

“But the equaliser is of our own doing. There’s a minute to go and we just need to see the game out.

“We had a breakaway and we somehow turn the ball over and the next thing it’s in the back of the net.

“It’s another game where we have led away from home, and it might be a good point come the end of the season but right now it’s a difficult one to take.”

Montgomery felt that St Mirren defender Richard Taylor had dived for the penalty that was converted by O’Hara.

He added: “I’m not here to talk about refereeing or VAR, but if that’s a penalty there are going to be 10 penalties in every game. I’m a little bit frustrated by that one as well.

“Look, the ball wasn’t even going in that area. I’ve watched it and the lad has got in front of Jordan Obita – but he’s six-foot-five and he’s just dropped to the floor with no contact.

“If players want to just throw themselves on the floor and they’re going to go and look at VAR, there are going to be a lot of stoppages.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson admitted his team had been defensively sloppy but felt they had created enough chances to win the match.

He said: “I thought it was a point we thoroughly deserved. We weren’t as defensively good as we could have been but our forward play and some of our movement and deliveries were excellent.

“I thought we were calm, we kept the ball, and we moved it well and got balls into the box. We should have been level before we were, we could have potentially been going for a winning goal.

“It wasn’t to be, but overall I think it’s one of our best performances this season, the way we played, the way we battled, the response we showed to adversity was excellent. I’m actually disappointed that we didn’t win the game.”

Lewis Jamieson’s stoppage-time strike earned St Mirren a battling 2-2 draw at home to Hibernian in the cinch Premiership.

Joe Newell’s second-half goal looked to have earned Hibs a first win in seven games after Josh Campbell’s opener had been cancelled out by a Mark O’Hara penalty.

Jamieson, though, grabbed his first goal for Saints, who remain in third but have now won just one of their last six games.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson made just one change from the team beaten by Celtic a week earlier, with Mikael Mandron coming in for Toyosi Olusanya.

Hibs were looking to bounce back from the disappointment of their Viaplay Cup semi-final loss to Aberdeen and made two changes to their line-up.

Martin Boyle and Lewis Miller both dropped to the bench, their places taken by Rory Whittaker and Campbell, the former making his first league start at the age of 17.

The home side had the first chance when Scott Tanser shot well wide from just outside the box but it was Hibs who moved in front after 12 minutes.

Alex Gogic misjudged Jordan Obita’s ball forward and allowed it to run under his foot. Dylan Vente took advantage to play in Campbell who finished well.

St Mirren rallied from the setback but it was Hibs who looked more likely to score again.

Richard Taylor did well to block an Elie Youan goalbound effort before Vente tried his luck from a tight angle, his shot only narrowly off target.

Saints responded with a hopeful O’Hara long-range header that was easily held by David Marshall, before Youan was twice denied at the other end, the second by a smart Zach Hemming save. The winger then thrashed a shot wide of the far post when he ought to have hit the target.

At the other end, Caolan Boyd-Munce tried his luck from distance but failed to hit the target to leave Saints trailing at the break.

They started the second half again on top and Marcus Fraser’s volley went just wide.

Hibs nearly doubled their lead after another Gogic mistake. The defender was weak with a back pass allowing Campbell to nip in but Hemming did brilliantly to save the forward’s shot.

That save became even more significant when St Mirren were awarded a penalty after a VAR intervention. Obita fouled Taylor at a corner and, after referee Steven McLean confirmed the decision, O’Hara stroked home the spot-kick.

Hibs responded with a Youan strike that Hemming did well to tip around the post before forging back in front after 69 minutes.

Youan spun away from Taylor to send Vente clear and the Dutchman’s cross was finished at the back post by Newell.

That looked like being the winner until Jamieson’s finish from close range earned his team a point.

Nick Montgomery has challenged Hibernian to take a big step towards more cup glory by eliminating Aberdeen in Saturday’s Viaplay Cup semi-final.

The Hibees last won a trophy in 2016 when they claimed the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years, while they last got their hands on the League Cup in 2007.

Current left-back Lewis Stevenson, 35, was involved in both of those triumphs while club captain Paul Hanlon, 33, played in the most recent one.

Both players are in contention to start against the Dons this weekend as the Hibees bid to set up a final showdown with city rivals Hearts or Rangers.

“There’s a lot of history at the club,” said Montgomery. “The past is the past but there are some great memories there.

“Now there is an opportunity for some of the players who have been there before to try and get to that moment again and for some of the players who have never been there to try and get to that moment.

“Any time you get to a cup final, it’s something to look back on in your career. Right now it’s 90 minutes plus extra time or whatever it is, and we’ll give everything we’ve got to try and make sure we get to the final.”

Montgomery, who was appointed Hibs boss in September, is looking forward to leading his team to Hampden less than two months after his first trip to the national stadium.

“I’ve never played or managed there,” he said. “The first time I visited was the Scotland v England game when I first arrived here in Scotland.

“I’m really looking forward to leading the team out tomorrow. It’s a special occasion at a special stadium and I’m looking forward to seeing plenty of our fans there in full voice.”

Hibs have drawn five of their seven league matches under Montgomery, with one win and one defeat.

“We’ve had a couple of draws that I feel we played well enough to win in and we’ve let a two-goal lead slip twice so it’s something we have to fix because getting into the lead is not easy,” he said.

“We have to be more resilient in terms of holding on to those leads. I think we’ve played some good football but there’s plenty improvement to make, especially in terms of concentration.

“You have to concentrate for the full game, especially defensively, like we did against Celtic (when drawing 0-0 last weekend). We have to make sure we do that every game because we know we’ve got goals in the team.

“For me, it’s been eight weeks of learning about the team, the players, the individuals and myself, and I think we’re close to being a good team. What we have to do now is turn those draws into wins but that’s all out the window this weekend because there can’t be a draw.”

Malky Mackay was disappointed Ross County did not leave Easter Road with a victory after they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Hibernian.

The Staggies looked to be staring at defeat when they trailed to goals from Elie Youan and Jair Tavares.

But they roared back strongly to claim a point courtesy of an Allan Delferriere own goal and a strike from substitute Jordan White.

Mackay was pleased with the spirit his team showed to get a third successive away draw but he felt they could have claimed all three points after Ryan Leak and Will Nightingale both missed late chances to win it.

“I’ve got mixed feelings,” said Mackay. “I’m delighted in the performance and comeback. I’m slightly disappointed we didn’t win the game.

“In the first half we were excellent and controlled a lot of the game. We didn’t quite pull the trigger and I was really disappointed to lose the deflection before half-time because it changed things when the crowd were starting to get restless.

“Second half we started well, lost a good goal from their point of view and at 2-0 you think ‘this could get away from us here’.

“But we were brave and continued to play and find openings and we eventually got the goals. I’m disappointed because we had another couple of great chances near the end to win it.”

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery rued his team’s performance and the way they squandered a position of command ahead of this weekend’s Viaplay Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

“I’m disappointed and frustrated,” he said. “We failed to manage the game properly. I’m disappointed in the display and result.

“Jair scored his first goal for the club, which was a fantastic moment for him, but we have to be disappointed with the goals we gave away but credit to Ross County for keeping going and throwing bodies in the box. We didn’t deal with that as well as we should.

“We felt frustration from the fans. We were winning 2-0, not playing well but if you get three points you move forward. It feels like we’ve thrown two points away but we have to move on and get ready for a big game on Saturday.”

Hibs appeared to lose their way after Montgomery made three substitutions midway through the second half.

“I wanted to get fresh legs on,” said the manager. “Some changes were enforced, some I felt would give us energy after a tough game on the weekend.

“You don’t want to risk players carrying knocks but I take full responsibility for the team selection and subs. We’ll review the game tomorrow.

“Maybe we could have been more prepared when the subs came on but that’s something we can address. I take responsibility for the team, the subs and a disappointing result.”

It emerged before the match that billionaire Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has begun talks aimed at investing in Hibs.

“I’m not going to comment on speculation, that’s for the board and the CEO and the owners,” said Montgomery. “All I’m concentrating on is football.

“Of course any club getting investment is probably looked on as a positive but it’s not right for me to comment on any speculation.”

Jair Tavares scored his first goal for Hibernian but it was not enough to secure victory as Ross County fought back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw in a dramatic cinch Premiership match at Easter Road.

The 22-year-old Portuguese winger has enjoyed a new lease of life under recently-installed manager Nick Montgomery and he appeared to have the Hibees on course for a win that would have lifted them into the top half of the table when he added to Elie Youan’s deflected first-half strike.

But an own goal from Allan Delferriere and a superb finish by substitute Jordan White in the closing 20 minutes earned County a third successive away draw.

Hibs boss Montgomery made four changes to the side that started Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Celtic. Goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott came in for his first league appearance, with David Marshall dropping to the bench, while Jordan Obita, Joe Newell and Martin Boyle made way for Lewis Stevenson, Dylan Levitt and Adam Le Fondre.

County made two alterations to the team that drew 3-3 at Motherwell last weekend as Ben Purrington and Kyle Turner replaced George Harmon and Yan Dhanda.

Hibs threatened in the 11th minute when Youan got in behind and crossed from the right, forcing James Brown to clear over his own crossbar as Dylan Vente raced in to try and connect on the edge of the six-yard box.

Another County defender had to make an important intervention 11 minutes later when Ryan Leak blocked Tavares’ shot from a Youan cutback after an excellent build-up down the right.

The Staggies almost took the lead with their first notable foray into the Hibs box in the 25th minute when Turner flashed a ferocious angled shot just beyond the far post after Simon Murray laid Brown’s pass off into his path.

At the other end, Le Fondre saw a powerful low shot from the edge of the box run agonisingly wide of Ross Laidlaw’s left-hand post.

Hibs made the breakthrough in the 42nd minute when Youan’s shot from just outside the box deflected off Purrington and eluded Laidlaw.

And the hosts looked to be well on their way to securing the three points eight minutes into the second half when Tavares received a pass from Levitt and drove forward before sending a firm right-footed shot beyond Laidlaw from the edge of the box.

The goal was allowed to stand following a VAR check for offside, much to the delight of the former Benfica winger whose Hibs career appeared to have petered out following a difficult first season in Scotland.

Staring down the barrel of defeat, County found some resistance in the closing stages. They pulled one back in the 74th minute when Hibs substitute Delferriere inadvertently turned the ball into his own net after Wollacott failed to deal with a cross from substitute Dhanda.

And the Staggies left the home support exasperated in the 82nd minute when White spun in the box and fired high into the net after excellent work by Murray on the right to set him up.

Cyriel Dessers believes Rangers will go from strength to strength after new boss Philippe Clement began his tenure with a 4-0 win over Hibernian on Saturday.

The Belgian took over the hot seat last Sunday and was given a huge ovation before the game, which provided instant encouragement for the Ibrox faithful.

Rangers played more direct and with tempo and got their rewards after 17 minutes when attacker Abdallah Sima scored his seventh goal in seven games with a fine finish.

Midfielder Nicolas Raskin doubled the lead just before the break with a drive from distance, Sima added a third in the 65th minute and Dessers got his close-range goal 10 minutes from time to complete a comprehensive win.

The 28-yearold Nigeria international told RangersTV:  “The manager wants us to play with energy and show it as well to the fans; high pressing, play aggressively and forward.

“We showed some bits of this, but there’s still a lot of growth left for us.

“I’m sure we’ll do that, and we’ll then be a team that is difficult to stop.

“It’s a part of the game that I like to do. I’m still growing to my best level, but this was a step towards it.

“I hope with the new energy inside the dressing room, with the new staff and the fans, that we can push on.”

Dessers praised substitute Todd Cantwell for setting him up for his goal which rounded off probably Rangers’ best performance of the season so far.

He said: “When Todd came on you could see his quality. I saw Tav (James Tavernier) making the run as he always does, and he pulled two defenders with him, so I became free at the last moment.

“It was an unbelievable pass from Todd to find me, I faked the shot, before putting it into the corner. I’m really happy about the goal.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable. The gaffer said at half-time that we had the fans behind us, that we need to keep up the energy, and we picked some early balls up in the second half and it got the crowd going.

“You can then see what’s possible at Ibrox and it was a nice afternoon to be playing with 50,000 people.”

A powerful Rangers performance ended the Easter Road side’s six-game unbeaten run – five under Nick Montgomery – and the Hibs boss said: “I genuinely thought we quietened them down at the start, played some good stuff, but the first goal is really important.

“After that it takes a bit of pressure off them, they get into the game a bit more. The second goal really did come at a time when we could have got back in the game.

“At 2-0 down, you have to come out and try to play. If you just sit back, you’re not going to score a goal.

“But we weren’t great in the final third. And a couple of sloppy mistakes at the back against clinical players cost us. That was the disappointing thing for me.”

Rangers have condemned the graffiti and stickers left in the away end at Ibrox after Saturday’s cinch Premiership match with Hibernian which mocked the disaster at the stadium in 1971.

Under 1,000 Hibs supporters were in attendance for the 4-0 defeat and when they left it emerged that some seats had been defaced with the number 66.

The 1971 Ibrox disaster was a crush among the crowd at a Rangers v Celtic game which led to 66 deaths.

There were also photographs of stairway 13, where the disaster occurred, stuck on the seats, with the images accompanied by the words, “Stairwell Thirteen – it’s the greatest sight that I have ever seen”.

Graffiti also mocked the death of Queen Elizabeth II and supported the IRA.

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers condemns in the strongest possible terms the graffiti and stickers left by a section of the Hibernian supporters at Ibrox this afternoon.

“The Ibrox disaster remains the darkest day in our club’s history, and continues to affect a number of families to this day.

“The mocking and celebration of such an event is outrageous, and has no place in any football stadium or society as a whole.

“Rangers will be pleased to work with Hibernian to identify those responsible.”

A Hibernian FC spokesperson said: “Hibernian FC is aware of the intolerable graffiti and stickers found in the away end at Ibrox today and condemns the behaviour of the individuals that were involved.

“The club will work with Rangers to identify those responsible and will take the most serious action possible against anyone involved.

“If any Hibernian FC supporter has any information that could assist the club to help identify these individuals, they should contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and the information provided will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.”

Philippe Clement stated that he is “not Harry Potter” as he warned Rangers fans not to expect too much too soon against Hibernian on Saturday.

The 49-year-old Belgian took over as boss at Ibrox on Sunday following the departure of Michael Beale and inherited a seven-point gap between the Light Blues and cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Jose Cifuentes returned from international duty with Ecuador with a knock and Tom Lawrence and Rabbi Matondo remain out.

Midfielders Ryan Jack and Todd Cantwell are back in the squad although the latter, along with attacker Kemar Roofe, is not fit for 90 minutes. Brazilian striker Danilo, who is recovering from a severe facial injury, is available again.

The former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss referenced Potter, the young wizard from novels written by British author JK Rowling, as he spoke about the visit of Hibs.

“I hope they see a difference but I am not Harry Potter with the magic stick who can change everything suddenly,” said Clement.

“It doesn’t work that way. It is a tough balance coming in during a season and it is not the first time, it was the same at Genk and Monaco.

“When you come in during the season you have to analyse what is good and what can be better and then prioritise the most important things to make better this week and the next week because if I try to do everything at one moment I kill the players.

“So it needs to be step by step. It is about analysing everything, the way I want to implement things.

“It is never perfect from the beginning. That is impossible but I see the good intentions, in staff and with the players, and the international players are now back in the last two days. I am looking forward to the first game and seeing how fast the little seeds we have planted will grow.

“I see a lot of good things here but a lot of things we need to make better and we need to focus on that now and make them better.

“I know a game is different from training, there is another atmosphere and tension so I don’t expect the perfect game tomorrow.

“I expect there will be things that go wrong but how you react at those moments is important and that they are open to learning and make it better and better.”

Stephan van der Heyden was earlier confirmed as Clement’s assistant.

The 54-year-old, who first worked with Clement in 2011 at Club Brugge, was most recently assistant at Kerala Blasters in India and has also coached in Belgium, Macedonia and Jordan.

Van der Heyden told the club’s official website: “I am looking forward to this challenge, it will be a big one but I think it is a great club.

“One of the most beautiful things about football is that you meet different people and different cultures, not only football culture but cultures in general.

“One thing in common is the supporters, they all expect the best from the team. The first impressions are good, I’m sure we can do something here and we can achieve something together.”

Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery hailed Elie Youan for his reaction to a half-time warning after the winger netted two goals in 83 seconds to earn his side an Edinburgh derby point against Hearts at Tynecastle.

Montgomery was unhappy with his side’s first-half efforts as they trailed to Alan Forrest’s spectacular strike before Christian Doidge’s 58th-minute own goal put Hearts two ahead.

But Youan struck twice in quick succession midway through the second half after combining with Dylan Vente and both teams collected a cinch Premiership point after a thrilling finale.

Montgomery said: “Elie’s a fantastic player, he could play at the highest level no doubt, but he needs to be more consistent and he knows that.

“I told him at half-time we needed more from him because he’s a player that can win you a game of football.

“There were too many who weren’t good enough in the first half and Elie was definitely one of them but when I asked him to step up he certainly did.

“He gets two goals and we need that from him for 90 minutes, not for 45. If only the game was 45 minutes he would probably be playing in the Champions League.

“But that’s something Elie has to fix, he’s a young player with bags of ability. That’s normal, sometimes it takes young players a couple of years to get that consistency but there’s no doubting his ability. He is a fantastic player and a good lad and second half he reacted really well.”

Montgomery labelled the 2-2 draw “definitely a good outcome in the end”.

“They were a lot better than us in the first half and I thought second half we were the better team,” he said.

“I’m very disappointed in the first half and the way we played and I told the boys at half-time it wasn’t good enough.

“We talked about the emotion of the game during the week and a few too many got caught up with the emotion and they dealt with it better.

“I told them second half they had to go out there and fix it and they did.”

Hearts head coach Steven Naismith bemoaned the 90-second spell which cost his team what he felt would have been a deserved win.

“We put so much into the game and for large parts it was a really good performance,” he said.

“We carried a threat, the chances we had were really good, scored two good goals, and the biggest disappointment is we have given up two goals in the space of a minute-and-a-half that has ultimately cost us three points in what would have been a very good performance.

“I think over time we will look at the performance and be positive but decision-making when it goes 2-1, you can question, and ultimately our defending has cost us.”

Naismith felt the impressive Alex Lowry was tiring as he explained his decision to take the midfielder off in the 62nd minute and replace him with the more defensive-minded Beni Baningime.

Naismith added: “The game was getting a bit more stretched, we weren’t keeping the ball when we should be, because they were committing more bodies forward and it started getting end to end. We didn’t want to lose control of it.

“But ultimately it’s a minute-and-a-half of poor decision-making and defending that has cost us.”