Goldson hopes Braga provides the vital spark
Connor Goldson believes a 30-minute spell could transform Rangers’ season.
Coming back from 2-0 down to beat Braga 3-2 at Ibrox ensured the Ibrox men still have a decent chance of reaching the last-16 of the Europa League.
That will be decided when they play the second leg in Portugal on Wednesday night.
But Goldson hopes there will be a benefit closer to home from the dramatic victory.
It might also reignite the title challenge that was fading away.
He said: “We hope so. “We have to get on a run of picking up three points each game.
“We’ll only do that by bringing the performance that we saw in the last 30 minutes against Braga.
“It gives us massive confidence.
“We need to play with that intensity and hunger every week – then we’ll see where it takes us.
“Since the winter break, we’ve not really turned up in most of the games.
“We’ve got through some games and taken three points. But, performancewise, it hasn’t been there.
“It was similar in the early stages the other night, albeit against better opposition.
“I don’t know why the character hasn’t always been there.
“It’s easy to point fingers and blame people or situations. But we’re all in it together.
“You have these moments in football.
“We’ve got some results where we’ve not been at our best and we’ve suffered together.
“We just have to keep moving on, starting with St Johnstone.”
Goldson believes the Gers have a great chance of knocking Braga out of the Europa League, but acknowledges it’s unlikely to happen if they make another slow start on the Archbishops’ home patch.
He went on: “In the first 45 minutes the other night, we were lucky to only be two down.
“It could have been more. They cut us open many times and showed us what a good side they are.
“So we’ll go there this week and try to stop that happening again.
“They’re as good a team as we’ve played here in Europe. They played total football for the first half and we couldn’t get near them.
“They had a lot of the ball but we had chances on the counter that we needed to take. That’s what you need to do at this level.
“We’ll get chances in the return game, too.
“They’re bold and attacking, but they play a high line and give you chances to get in behind.”
It’s an enormous week for Rangers, culminating with a Scottish Cup clash against Hearts on Saturday evening.
Goldson added: “There’s not much recovery time between games but we’ve been doing this for two years and we’re used to it.”