Kieran Dowell is relishing the pressure after signing for Rangers.

Ahead of their home cinch Premiership game against Hearts on Wednesday night, the Light Blues announced the pre-contract capture of the 25-year-old midfielder from Norwich on a three-year deal.

Dowell, who will officially become a Rangers player on July 1, told the club’s official website: “I’m buzzing and really glad to get it done early towards the end of the season.

“I know a lot of Rangers fans and Scottish lads from my previous clubs, and they just speak so highly of Rangers – the intensity of it, the pressure of it – and that is a really good pressure as you are expected to win every game.

“There were so many positives for me to come here.”

Dowell, who has had various loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Derby and Wigan, becomes Michael Beale’s first signing of the summer as preparations begin for the 2023/24 campaign.

Dowell represented England at youth level and played his part in winning the Under-20 World Cup in 2017.

Beale said: “I am delighted to welcome Kieran to Rangers. He already has great experience in his career, with a number of Premier League appearances, and he is a player we feel will fit well into our squad and our style of football.

“I have seen him develop as a young player through the Everton academy and also through the England junior and under-21 team.

“He is a good fit for our squad and has already been a team-mate of Tom Lawrence, John Lundstram and Todd Cantwell in previous clubs.

“It is fantastic, as a club, to be able to complete our first signing ahead of the summer break and I am excited to see what the future holds for Kieran at Rangers.”

Michael Beale admitted Scott Arfield’s departure “pulls at the heartstrings” as he paid tribute to a quintet of Rangers players leaving Ibrox this summer.

Colombia striker Alfredo Morelos, winger Ryan Kent, veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor and long-term injured defender Filip Helander will also depart at the ends of their contracts.

The Govan club also announced that veteran midfielder Steven Davis – another player soon to be out of contract – “remains in discussions to continue working with the club’s medical team to support his return to full fitness following a long-term ACL injury suffered in December 2022”.

Midfielder Arfield, 34, has become a fans’ favourite since signing from Burnley in 2018, although he has found regular starts hard to come by recently.

Ahead of the final home cinch Premiership game of the season against Hearts on Wednesday night, where the players leaving will be given the chance to say their goodbyes, Beale spoke about Arfield in the most glowing terms.

“Scotty Arfield – it pulls on the heartstrings, big time,” he said. “As a man and as a person, he has been absolutely fantastic around the place.

“He is adored by the fans as well, not only (by) his team-mates and staff.

“That was a real amicable conversation between the two of us over the last couple of months around playing time, how the squad will look and what Scott needs moving forward as well.

“You have to live the reality. He is a key player and gives a lot of energy to the building and his team-mates, but he needs to feel he will be involved and play from the start or have a significant involvement, and I can’t promise him that.

“A difficult decision to come to, but I think it is right for all parties.”

Beale, who took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst in November, promised a revamp of the Rangers squad for next season, having once again missed out on the Premiership title to Celtic, and admitted that, “as a group, we are losing a lot of experience and a lot of quality”.

McGregor, 41, is in his second spell at the club while 30-year-old Sweden defender Helander has not played since April 2022 due to a foot problem.

Morelos, 26, was signed from HJK Helsinki in 2017 for a reported fee of £1million while Kent, 26, joined from Liverpool permanently in September 2019 after an initial loan spell, with the fee reportedly around £6.5m.

Beale, former assistant coach at Ibrox under Steven Gerrard, said: “McGregor, Hall of Fame member, has been a fantastic servant for the club in two periods and has had many fantastic moments for this club where he has shown his class.

“We have not had Helander available for a long time through injury but his partnership with Connor Goldson was probably the foundation for the league-winning season in 2021 when we were invincible.

“Ryan Kent’s contribution has been fantastic, certainly in big matches, Europe and domestically.

“This season has not gone the way Ryan would like to go but an excellent player for Rangers.

“And Alfredo, for the outlay to what we got back, he has made an outstanding contribution to the club. Top goalscorer in Europe for Rangers and was player of the year last year.

“Their contributions to Rangers were huge.

“It is a sad day in many ways and I am sure the fans will show their appreciation (on Wednesday) night in the last home game.

“They have all made big contributions to the club but it is a sign that there will be change to the club this summer. You will start to see some announcements.”

After Sunday’s 3-1 win over Hibernian at Easter Road, Beale has Morelos, Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara, Scott Wright, Rabbi Matondo and Antonio Colak all back in training and will rotate his squad for the visit of Hearts.

He said: “We are unbeaten at home in the league this season. There is one game to go and we want to make sure we keep it like that.”

Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin is relishing a high-stakes finale to the season as Hearts aim to continue hunting down Aberdeen and secure European group-stage football.

The Jambos pulled off a potentially huge victory over the Dons on Saturday to cut the gap between the teams from five points to two in the battle for third place in the cinch Premiership.

Hearts travel to Rangers on Wednesday and host city rivals Hibernian on Saturday, while the Dons welcome St Mirren before finishing away to Celtic.

Devlin knows it will be a “special” ending to the season if his side can pip the Reds and secure third place – and the financial and European rewards that go with it – for the second year running.

“Being a professional footballer you want to play in the big pressure games,” said the Australia international. “For all of us being fortunate enough to be at a club like Hearts, that pressure is normal.

“It’s about building yourself up for the games and being up for it, and there’s no excuses for not being up for it.

“On Saturday, as individuals and as a team, we showed we are up for it. We’ve got massive games coming up and it could be very special, but we’ve just got to control what we can control and hopefully make that happen.”

Devlin is adamant Hearts never gave up hope of finishing third even though Aberdeen, who won eight games out of nine before the split, seemed to be marching clear in recent months.

“I don’t think we’ve ever taken our mind off third,” he said. “That’s where we know we need to be. Obviously there was a period there where we as players weren’t good enough, but I think you can see now where we want to be.

“We look like we’re turning it around. Saturday was a massive result and it showed how hungry we are to give back to the people who pay to come and watch us home and away, and hopefully we can finish that off in the last two games.”

Hearts had 30 goal attempts against Aberdeen and 38 in their recent 6-1 victory over Ross County.

Devlin has enjoyed the “front-foot” football Steven Naismith has encouraged since being appointed interim manager in April and the midfielder feels that approach is essential for Wednesday’s match with Rangers at Ibrox, a venue at which the Jambos have not won in nine years.

“We’ve found it tough against Rangers, they are a very good team, there’s no shying away from that,” said Devlin.

“But since Naisy’s come in we’ve changed a few things. A few results haven’t been ideal, but I think the football we’ve been playing has been attractive to watch and as a player it’s enjoyable to be playing attacking football on the front foot.

“The defensive side of it is so important (at Ibrox), but we need to go and score more goals than them.

“Naisy won’t want to set us up defensively because that’s not the coach he is and (assistants) Frankie (McAvoy) and Gordy (Gordon Forrest) aren’t like that.

“As players you never want to sit back on your box inviting pressure, that’s not enjoyable for any player, so we certainly won’t be doing that.

“Naisy wants us to play attacking football and take any opportunity to go forward and put pressure on the opponent. He’s instilling that into the players and I think it’s showing.”

Alfredo Morelos leads the list of five out-of-contract players confirmed as leaving Rangers this summer.

The Colombia striker, winger Ryan Kent, veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor, midfielder Scott Arfield and defender Filip Helander will depart the cinch Premiership outfit.

The Ibrox club also announced that veteran midfielder Steven Davis, whose contract is also expiring, “remains in discussions to continue working with the club’s medical team to support his return to full fitness following a long-term ACL injury suffered in December 2022”.

The Light Blues finished runners-up to Premiership champions Celtic this season and will end the season without a trophy.

Boss Michael Beale, who took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst in November, promised a revamp of the Rangers squad for next season.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “Each of the departing players has given the club excellent service and will move on to the next stage in their careers with the warmest wishes and thanks of everyone at Ibrox and the Rangers Training Centre.

“The individuals have contributed enormously to the club’s capture of a record 55th Scottish league title, last season’s Scottish Cup, the run to the UEFA Europa League final and qualification for the UEFA Champions League this season.

“Allan McGregor, of course, also gained significant honours with the club in his first spell and broke the 500 appearance mark for Gers back in April.

“Tributes to the departing players will be paid at tomorrow’s match with Hearts.

“Additional acknowledgements to those leaving will continue on the club’s digital platforms in the coming weeks, with Allan McGregor to be further recognised in his testimonial match with Newcastle on July 18.”

Jimmy Jeggo believes Hibernian can recover from Sunday’s setback against Rangers to keep themselves in contention for a European place.

The Hibees had not lost in four games before the 3-1 cinch Premiership defeat to the Light Blues where goals from Gers skipper James Tavernier, Ianis Hagi and Todd Cantwell rendered Paul Hanlon’s added-time header as a consolation.

Lee Johnson’s side are in fifth place – two points ahead of St Mirren, four points behind Hearts and six behind Aberdeen – with European places potentially available up to fifth place in the league as long as champions Celtic beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup final.

Hibs finish the campaign with two tough matches, at home to Celtic and away to Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Jeggo remains positive.

The 31-year-old midfielder, who signed from Belgian club Eupen in January, said: “There were positives but there are still a lot of things we need to improve when it comes to these types of games to get a little bit closer.

“But we are at that stage in the season where we need results.

“We are still in with a chance of European football, which is our aim. It is about taking the positives from Sunday, looking at the things we need to improve on and then taking them into the game on Wednesday night, which will be a similar game.

“We know where we are as a team and we want to keep building.

“We feel that over the last couple of weeks we have taken a step forward and it is about continuing that.

“It is that time of the season where there is no point getting too down about things.

“We know we have to go out there in the next couple of games and do a job. We know it is going to be difficult, but we are ready for that.

“There is still an overriding sense of confidence in the team that we can do what we need to do to get a European place.

“A club like Hibs has to be in Europe. We are all well aware of the expectation.

“As players, that’s where we want to be. We know there are two really big games coming up and it is going to be difficult.

“But the gaffer is clear. We are building and there is another window coming up and all that kind of stuff.

“It is a big advantage to the club having European football and also for us as a team. It provides us with more challenges to grow and more challenges to get better.”

Michael Beale hopes for better luck on the injury front at Rangers next season as he confirmed Connor Goldson is out for 10 weeks.

The 30-year-old centre-back missed the 3-1 cinch Premiership win against Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday with a foot injury picked up in the victory over Celtic last weekend.

Beale described the mentality of his side in winning as “absolutely fantastic” after Alfredo Morelos, Glen Kamara and Scott Wright were added to a long list of absentees, with Rabbi Matondo on the bench but unable to come on.

On-loan attacker Malik Tillman is back at Bayern Munich with a hamstring problem which has ended his season while Ben Davies, Ryan Kent, Borna Barisic, Antonio Colak, Kemar Roofe, Tom Lawrence, Steven Davis and Filip Helander were also missing.

On Goldson’s absence, Beale said: “He’ll be out for about 10 weeks. He had a funny land on his foot with a couple of minutes to go last week. He wanted to play on.

“Afterwards, we’ve had it scanned and seen a specialist so he’ll probably be about six weeks where he’s got to try and stay off it and then a four-week, five-week rehab back into the start of next season.

“All going well, he’ll be available for the first game of next season, albeit he might have a slightly modified pre-season compared to the others.

“This season seems to have been the worst season ever for the club, or certainly in my times associated with the club.

“Hopefully, that’s out of the way and next season we get a clean bill of health.

“We’ll look to strengthen every area this summer. There will be some new faces in to contribute.

“I think there’s a real clarity about the way we’re playing and I’ve no doubts that come the summer we’ll be in a stronger position squad-wise and have even more clarity after a good pre-season.”

Skipper James Tavernier celebrated his 400th competitive appearance for Rangers by beating Hibs keeper David Marshall with a 30-yard free-kick in the 33rd minute before attacker Ianis Hagi scored his first goal since January 2022, before his lengthy absence due to a knee injury.

Midfielder Todd Cantwell added a third in the 88th minute before Hibs defender Paul Hanlon reduced the deficit in added time.

Beale said: “The mentality of the group today was absolutely fantastic because the preparation couldn’t have been any worse.

“We lost Alfredo and Glen Kamara in training on Saturday, Rabbi was on the bench but wasn’t able to go on, Scott Wright we lost overnight as well.

“Scott Arfield came on but is playing through a problem, so actually coming into the game – and knowing Hibs are in such good form, unbeaten in four – I thought it might be an interesting day for us.

“I thought we were clearly the better team.”

Lee Johnson’s side remain four points behind fourth-placed Hearts and six behind Aberdeen, with European places potentially available up to fifth place in the league as long as Celtic beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup final

Hibs host Celtic on Wednesday before the Edinburgh derby against Hearts on the final day of the season and Johnson believes European football is still a possibility.

He said: “I think it’s obviously on, because there’s the potential that fifth is available as well.

“Celtic are a top team so you’d expect them to be super competitive in a cup final and all of us in the mix will be hoping that Celtic win that game for that very reason.

“But it’s going to be an important time for us over the next days and that’s why we need everybody.

“It needs to be a club performance as well as individuals and I include the fans in that.”

Skipper James Tavernier celebrated his 400th competitive appearance for Rangers with the opening goal in a 3-1 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian at Easter Road.

The Gers right-back beat Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall with a 30-yard free-kick in the 33rd minute and Ianis Hagi doubled the visitors’ lead in the 55th minute with his first goal since January 2022, before his lengthy knee injury absence.

Todd Cantwell added a third in the 88th minute before Hibs defender Paul Hanlon reduced the deficit in added time.

The defeat leaves Lee Johnson’s side four points behind fourth-placed Hearts and six behind Aberdeen, with European places potentially available up to fifth place in the league as long as Celtic beat Inverness in the Scottish Cup final

Hibs host Celtic on Wednesday before the Edinburgh derby against Hearts on the final day of the season.

Rangers, with second place guaranteed, finish the campaign with a home game against Hearts before travelling to St Mirren on the last day of the season.

Michael Beale already had a lengthy injury list when he confirmed before the game that defender Connor Goldson was ruled out for 10 weeks, the problem unspecified.

However, the Gers boss made only two changes to his starting line-up with Hagi in for Rabbi Matondo and 19-year-old centre-back Leon King replacing Goldson for his first start since November

Tavernier had the Hibs defence in trouble with a series of early corners in which defender John Souttar’s header came off the crossbar and King’s header blocked inadvertently by Gers midfielder Ryan Jack.

Hibs, unchanged from last week’s draw at Aberdeen, worked their way into the game but Rangers remained the more dangerous, a neat move ending with striker Fashion Sakala forcing a save from Marshall with a low drive.

The home side began to cope better with the Ibrox threat and in the 23rd minute striker Kevin Nisbet came close with a header from an Elie Youan cross, after the Hibs wideman had got the better of Tavernier.

However, the Gers captain made a more marked impression on the game after Cantwell was fouled wide on the left by CJ Egan-Riley.

With most expecting a cross into the middle, Tavernier curled the ball in at the near post with Hibs captain Marshall slow to get across and unable to keep the ball out the net.

The Easter Road side took some time to recover but might have levelled in the 41st minute when Nisbet’s wonderful curling pass found Josh Campbell at the back post but the midfielder could only hit the side-netting on the stretch.

Early in the second half, Gers keeper Robby McCrorie, who had looked unconvincing, was out of position when Nisbet’s close-range header floated just past the post, just before Scott Arfield replaced the injured Gers midfielder Nicolas Raskin.

Rangers’ second goal came from Tavernier’s long ball into the box which was headed down by Sakala and although Hagi’s first effort was blocked by Hanlon – it looked as though the ball hit the arm of the Hibs defender – the Romania international drove in at the second attempt.

Marshall saved another effort from Sakala and the other end, Nisbet headed substitute Ewan Henderson’s corner against the post – it was not going to Hibs’ day.

In the 79th minute Marshall tipped a John Lundstram drive over the bar before Cantwell prodded in from close range to seal the points after the Hibs keeper failed to deal with a Tavernier effort, with Hanlon netting a consolation goal for the hosts when he headed in a corner in the third of four added minutes.

Rangers boss Michael Beale has revealed defender Connor Goldson is out for 10 weeks.

The 30-year-old missed the cinch Premiership clash with Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday with an unspecified injury although he recently had a hip flexor problem.

With the league campaign finishing next week, Beale is hoping to have Goldson back for next season although the timeframe makes things tricky with regards to the Champions League third qualifiers beginning on August 8/9.

Before the game against Hibs, Beale told RangersTV: “We have lost Connor and that will be for the next 10 weeks or so.

“We won’t see him until pre-season. But it’s a big opportunity for Leon (King), playing alongside John (Souttar) as a Scottish centre-half pairing with Robby (McCrorie) behind them, there is lots to be optimistic about with that triangle and I am looking forward to a strong performance from those guys.”

Michael Beale will dig deep into his Rangers squad for the trip to Hibernian on Sunday but he is determined to build on the recent upswing in form.

The Light Blues, guaranteed to finish runners-up to cinch Premiership champions Celtic for a second successive season, go into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 3-0 win over their Old Firm rivals at Ibrox last weekend.

That first win of the season over the Hoops followed a 1-0 home win over Aberdeen, after losing to both of those teams in the previous two matches.

Defender Connor Goldson is a doubt for the Easter Road game and could be added to a lengthy injury list which includes Borna Barisic, Ben Davies, Ryan Kent, Antonio Colak, Kemar Roofe, Tom Lawrence, Steven Davis and Filip Helander while on-loan attacker Malik Tillman is now back at Bayern Munich with a hamstring problem which has ended his season.

The Gers boss said: “In terms of the young players, we’ve lost Bailey Rice and Zak Lovelace to international duty with Scotland and England Under-17s, at the Euros.

“So there will be one or two others get an opportunity.

“There’s players that have been injured for big parts of the season that need an opportunity as well and we are going to need everyone.

“We probably have 16 players to get us through the last three games next week: Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday.

“We want to end the season well. We know the teams we are playing this week are still in the hunt for European places, so they are not slowing down.

“It is important for us that after two home wins against Aberdeen and Celtic that we back that up this weekend.”

However, with changes for next season certain to be made, Beale stressed the need for the comprehensive win over Celtic not to be romanticised.

The former QPR boss said: “When the sun is shining on your face and you get a good result then everything feels better.

“Other times, when the wind is in your face and everything is rubbish – that’s the life of a football manager in this city.

“I’ve always said there’s a core of players that will move forward, you don’t change a whole squad,  you try to improve your squad in certain areas.

“Last week was a decent performance but it is important we don’t get romantic over one result.

“People have had all season to play and perform and to show everyone if they should be involved or not. It was a good day last week.”

Rangers incoming chief executive James Bisgrove has suggested away fans could return to Old Firm derbies next season albeit a full allocation of visiting supporters is “highly unlikely”.

The two most recent cinch Premiership Glasgow derbies were played in front of home supporters only due to “safety and security” issues.

Previous to that around 800 away supporters were allowed, which in itself was vastly reduced from the approximately 7,500 tickets which were once allocated to visitors.

However, Bisgrove – who will officially take over the role on July 31 – said: “It’s definitely an area we are going to look at.

“We are going to have dialogue with all the right stakeholders and authorities, be that Police Scotland, be that Celtic, and we recognise all the different viewpoints on that and we will see where those discussions go for next season.

“There’s no specific date in the diary for those talks but I would imagine that during the summer and before the next Old Firm game that the dialogue would take place.

“For next season, the season tickets have not been sold in the corner of the Govan stand, where the allocation was previously.

“So for next season we do have the opportunity should we decide to restore that allocation of about 700-800, that’s our maximum for next season.

“Beyond that it’s a broader conversation. We need to have that dialogue with those stakeholders because there’s a lot of different views on it.”

Celtic fans had traditionally occupied the Broomloan Stand at Ibrox for Old Firm clashes, with Rangers supporters housed in the corner of the Main Stand and Jock Stein Stand at Celtic Park.

Bisgrove said: “We’ll take the decision that is right for Rangers and is right for our supporters.

“I think the question was, ‘is there the chance to go back to the traditional allocation of 8,000?’ I think that’s very unlikely at the moment.

“We need to see where the conversations go. But I don’t think that is imminent at the moment.”

The Viaplay Cup final and the Scottish Cup semi-final between Rangers and Celtic this season were played at Hampden Park with a 50-50 split of tickets.

Ryan Jack insists the decision to sign a one-year extension to his contract at Rangers was a “no-brainer”.

The 31-year-old midfielder joined the Govan club from Aberdeen in 2017 and his new deal will see him into his seventh season at Ibrox.

Jack told the club’s official website: “I am obviously delighted with it, it has been in the background for a little while.

“I am delighted to get it done before the summer and I can go and focus over the off-season.

“I have played for the club for a number of years now, I love playing for the club and I love being here.

“I’m settled and my family are settled so when I initially spoke to the manager and he said he wanted me to stay it was a no brainer.”

Manager Michael Beale said: “I am delighted Ryan has signed a contract extension with the club as we continue to work behind the scenes in preparation for next season.

“I have worked with Ryan for a number of years, both in my previous time with the club and more recently since I returned, and he is a fantastic midfielder and an important member of our squad.

“The quality and experience he has is invaluable for this group as we all look forward to an exciting summer and 2023-24 campaign.”

Incoming Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove is working on a plan that aims to make them the “dominant club in Scotland” and promised supporters transfer plans were reasonably advanced.

Commercial and marketing director Bisgrove will officially take over from Stewart Robertson on July 31 but is already working on a plan alongside recently-appointed chairman John Bennett and manager Michael Beale.

Beale is set for a major overhaul of his squad during his first close season in charge after ending the campaign without a trophy.

In an interview with Rangers TV, Bisgrove revealed the club had a clear strategy until 2025.

“Right across the club there are a number of objectives that underpin that but ultimately it’s about being successful as a football club and being the dominant club in Scotland,” he said.

Bisgrove added: “The manager has spoken about this summer being quite a transformational one for the squad and he has presented a very clear plan that is a body of work that’s taken place across many months, led by John Park the chief scout from a recruitment point of view, and presented a plan of what he wants the squad to look like next season.

“That plan is fully supported by the board and we are reasonably well advanced in a number of discussions that will underpin that plan in terms of player recruitment, and I think there will be some updates on that in due time.

“The plan Michael has presented to the board is a really exciting one in terms of the transformation of the team.

“There are various discussions and negotiations that are taking place but I think we are ahead of the game in terms of engaging in some of those conversations.

“And while the focus will be absolutely on recruitment we will also have an eye on player trading out because that’s important for the model and there are individuals and clubs we are talking to that may mean we see players going out as well as coming in.

“We will always take those decisions in the best interests of the club but ultimately this is about delivering on Michael’s plan for next season.”

Bisgrove is also focused on filling vacant leadership positions including academy director, sporting director, chief financial officer and a commercial and marketing director to replace himself.

“Some of those conversations have shown us how attractive Rangers are in the market and we are having some really, really interesting conversations and we will have some announcements that we will be able to make in the coming weeks,” he said.

Bisgrove promised to “engage frequently” with supporters and signalled that improved communication would also focus on stakeholders such as UEFA, other clubs in Scotland and the media.

“We want to build relationships and be visible and outward facing to make sure the brand of Rangers is portrayed in the best possible light,” he said.

He also revealed the club were looking into the feasibility of safe standing at Ibrox and said close to 45,000 season tickets and 2,000 hospitality packages had been renewed for next term.

Hibernian manager Lee Johnson is relishing a blockbuster finale to the season as his team bid to secure a European place.

The Easter Road side finish their campaign with back-to-back home games against the cinch Premiership’s top two of Rangers and Celtic followed by an Edinburgh derby away to Hearts on the final day.

The stakes are high for Johnson’s team, who are currently fifth in the table, a point behind the Jambos and three ahead of St Mirren.

A fifth-placed finish will be enough to earn a crack at Europe next term as long as Celtic beat Championship side Inverness in the Scottish Cup final next month, while fourth will guarantee a place in continental competition regardless.

“We’re very excited, it’s a great three games,” Johnson told Sky Sports. “We’ve got Rangers at home on the Sunday, Celtic at home on the Wednesday and Hearts away on the Saturday, so it doesn’t get bigger than that for us.

“We’re in good form, the boys are playing well and feeling confident, so we have to maximise the points on offer, but they’re tough games.”

Hibs are buoyed by a four-game unbeaten run ahead of their visit from Rangers this Sunday and Johnson is heartened by the way his team performed in their goalless draw away to Aberdeen last weekend.

“We were outstanding on Saturday,” he said. “Aberdeen are on a great run but the boys absolutely implemented the game plan to perfection apart from that elusive goal.

“We hit the woodwork four times, missed a penalty and dominated between the boxes. It was really good from us but we need to maintain that standard and performance level.

“We were disappointed we couldn’t take the three as that would put us in with a shout of fighting for third but we will keep fighting. It’s important for us we continue to improve because it’s a relatively new project.”

John Souttar’s first Rangers goal in the 3-0 victory over Celtic at Ibrox was a magical moment for him in a landmark win.

The centre-back joined the Light Blues from Hearts last summer but came off on his debut against Livingston last July with a stress fracture of his ankle which caused him to miss the bulk of the campaign.

After Todd Cantwell fired the home side ahead in the fifth minute, Souttar, who returned to fitness in March, got his head to a James Tavernier corner to open his account for the club.

Striker Fashion Sakala added a third after the break to give Rangers their first win of the season against the cinch Premiership champions.

The 26-year-old Scotland international told RangersTV: “It was class, it is something we work on with (first-team coach) Harry (Watling) to attack that front post and drag them in and thankfully we did that.

“It was a great delivery from the skipper and I was there to put it in.

“It has been a tough season for me and when you are injured you just think about those kinds of moments and almost dream of scoring in those moments, so for me to get that goal was massive and I really enjoyed it.

“I think it was a big day for everyone, individually and collectively, to finish out what has been a tough season to get the three points and the clean sheet.

“We started really aggressively, we started on the front foot, and I think that is when we are at our best.

“The crowd got behind us and the atmosphere got behind us and it really drove us on.

“We’ve got great attacking players, I thought they were really good, so I thought if we could keep a clean sheet and keep solid we had every chance of winning the game and thankfully we did.”

Michael Beale, who enjoyed his first win over Celtic in five attempts since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Gers boss last November, was pleased to see Souttar make a positive impact after a wayward pass back in the last Old Firm league match in April proved costly in a 3-2 defeat.

He said: “I’m delighted for John after the injury hell he has gone through both at his previous club and during his time at Rangers.

“It’s been extremely different for him and people have said things about someone without actually knowing the situation.

“John’s back. He has played with Connor (Goldson) and put on a really strong performance.

“Obviously he has scored and probably got over that little mistake he made in the last one so I’m pleased for him.”

Ange Postecoglou will ensure Celtic shrug off the disappointment of Saturday’s derby defeat at Ibrox to get ready to respond against St Mirren.

After clinching the cinch Premiership title at Tynecastle last week, the Hoops boss made a few changes to his line-up which was already missing first-choice defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston through injury and the champions suffered only their second league loss this season as goals from Todd Cantwell, John Souttar and Fashion Sakala gave Rangers a 3-0 win.

It was Michael Beale’s first win over the treble-chasing Hoops in five attempts since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst as Gers manager last November.

And although it made no difference in terms of the title, the Celtic boss was far from happy and he expects a reaction against the Buddies on Saturday, with a view to the Scottish Cup final against Inverness at Hampden Park on June 3.

Postecoglou told CelticTV: “It was a disappointing day for us. We never really got going. We had a couple of really good opportunities to get back in the game and we let ourselves down in those areas.

“Then in the second half we didn’t really get going and didn’t make much of an impact on the game.

“It’s not the first time that players have been thrown into the derby under me and those are the expectations. You don’t get a freebie.

“From our perspective we had a team out there that we thought could get the job done, and we didn’t.

“It’s always a challenge (to bounce back). We’ll get back to work during the week and make sure that we train really (well), concentrating on the aspects of the game that are important to us and be ready for another tough game.”

Captain Callum McGregor admitted Celtic were not “at the level” and “had a bad day” as he also looked for a positive response next weekend.

The Scotland midfielder said: “We will dust ourselves down and go again.

“We have three games to go in the league, a big cup final and when that’s done we start all over again with nothing the following season.

“That was a timely reminder of what this fixture means.”