Danny Rohl reduced Rangers composed 2–0 victory over Aberdeen to its simplest truths: results, control and consistency.
After an emotionally draining Old Firm triumph just three days earlier, the Rangers head coach made it clear that backing it up mattered just as much as the statement win at Celtic Park.
“Next three points, a clean sheet – this is the most important thing,” Röhl said.
“I think we played some good football in some minutes, but all in all I’m very proud of the group at the moment.”
Röhl acknowledged there were spells where Rangers lost possession too easily, but never felt his side were truly threatened.
“From my point, I felt that we controlled the game and deserved to win,” he added.
“Again, two goals after set-play, strong performance from this part, and a couple of more chances.”
The timing of the fixture added another layer of difficulty. Aberdeen arrived at Ibrox without a permanent manager, with ex-Rangers youth Peter Leven in interim charge of team affairs, a scenario Röhl admitted can complicate preparation.
“You play against a team, you never know what comes when they change the manager,” he said.
“The last 10 minutes we had to observe first what they are doing, but then we found our spaces.”
Fatigue was visible late on, something Röhl was unsurprised by given Rangers recent schedule.
“The last 10–15 minutes you felt we were a little bit empty,” he explained.
“We’ve had a busy schedule, but this is normal. I’m very pleased, very proud of the group at the moment.”
The German boss managed the minutes of Mikey Moore, Dujon Sterling and John Souttar throughout the 90.
“What they are doing every three days is outstanding,” Röhl said.
“We stepped up, we did our job, and again a clean sheet and three points.”
Despite Rangers climb up the table, Röhl refused to let the conversation drift towards bigger prizes.
“I will repeat this again and again – we have to be hungry, we have to be ambitious,” he said.
“But I will not allow that we dream of something more. It’s about the next game.”
For Röhl, momentum is earned weekly, not banked.
“If we do our homework like we did in the last couple of weeks, we are on a fantastic way,” he concluded.
“But it’s too early to speak about anything else.”
Rangers now make the opposite trip to Aberdeen – with the sides meeting again at Pittodrie on Sunday afternoon.