Rangers growing threat from dead-ball situations continues to shape Danny Röhl’s side - and the head coach made no secret of how important that edge has become.
Both goals in the 2–0 win over Aberdeen arrived from Connor Barron corners, further underlining the influence of new set-piece coach Scott Fry.
“Very important,” Röhl said when asked about the contribution of set-plays.
“Scott [Fry] is doing a fantastic job – that’s the reason why he’s here. We made a good choice.”
Röhl stressed that Fry’s impact extends beyond tactics.
“It’s not just about the topics and the content – he’s also a good human,” he explained.
“He’s a good addition to my coaching team and I’m very happy.”
The work on the training ground is translating directly to matchday.
“You see also the players – we worked a lot on these things,” Röhl said.
“Especially in tight games, you need this.”
Rangers variety in how they score is something Röhl views as essential for title contention.
“On the weekend we scored three times after transition moments, good counter-pressing,” he noted.
“Today we scored after set-play – and maybe next time in ball possession.”
“It’s a big belief as well,” Röhl added.
“Against Celtic we scored after pressing moments, today after set-play. I think we had two or three more chances as well.”
Röhl felt Rangers control increased as the game wore on.
“In the second half we controlled the game like a top team in the league,” he said.
“That was my feeling on the touchline.”
Still, standards remain high.
“With the ball, we sometimes lose our structure,” he admitted.
“But it was much, much better in the second half.”
The message at the break was clear.
“I want to see a clean sheet mentality from my group,” Röhl said.
“If we do this, then you win this game 2–0 – and at the end we did.”
As Rangers prepare to face Aberdeen again at Pittodrie, Röhl believes the foundations are in place.
“We are in a good way,” he said. “But we have to recover now and then go again.”