Thelo Aasgaard believes Rangers hard-earned UEFA Europa League victory over Ludogorets can provide the platform for another strong domestic display as attention quickly turns back to the Scottish Premiership and today’s meeting with Dundee at Ibrox.
A Mohamed Diomande goal secured a 1-0 win and Rangers first success of the European campaign, a result that brought both relief and renewed confidence inside the squad after a difficult continental run.
“Yes, it was good to finally get a win in this competition,” he said post-match.
“We know we’re not where we want to be in Europe, but it felt good and I was happy for the fans to get our first win.”
With Rangers already on a strong run of form domestically, the Norway midfielder stressed the importance of not allowing European frustration to derail their broader momentum.
“Yes, I think we’re on a decent amount of form, so we didn’t want to let that go in this competition, even though it has not the best games previously,” Aasgaard explained.
“We wanted to go strong tonight and I think we did all right.”
The second half demanded a different side to Rangers performance, with defensive discipline and work rate required to see out the narrow advantage.
“Yes, it was a lot of running,” he admitted.
“Some of it on this area felt like we could have kept the ball better and made them run a bit more and then kill the game off.
“I’m happy with the win.”
Despite the positive result, Aasgaard acknowledged there is still refinement needed in the final third - an area that could prove decisive again against Dundee.
“Yes, I think the manager touches on it as well. He says we want to be better at making that final pass, that final decision and we’re working on it every day in training.
“So hopefully that improves.”
That commitment to improvement sits alongside growing belief within the group, with the Ludogorets result extending Rangers winning sequence to seven matches in all competitions.
“Yes, we feel it in the squad,” Aasgaard said.
“I think all the fans will be able to see it and the players are growing in confidence, and gelling as a team.”
Crucially, he insisted there is no danger of complacency creeping in - a message that aligns with the challenge the Dees will present at Ibrox.
“Yes, I think it comes game by game,” he said.
“We only focus on the next one and we don’t get carried away with a winning streak or whatever.
“We just focus on the next one and that’s it.”
And with the league campaign now the clear priority, the message inside the camp is straightforward.
“Yes, we know the league is massive,” Aasgaard added.
“I think our full focus is on that - we’ll be focused on that in training and ready to go again.”