SIMPLY THE BEST

Hibs were doing all the talking but we silenced the doubters and showed we are ...

THE joke was lost on absolutely no one. In claiming that he didn’t like to talk about other people’s teams in the wake of Hibernian’s defeat to Rangers last Monday, Alan Stubbs bookended a sustained and deliberate campaign to gnaw away at the league leaders’ psyche with a gem of a comedic one-liner.

Despite the outcome, you could only admire the Liverpudlian’s attempt to add a layer or two of froth to the pre-match posturing. Heaven knows Scottish football needs all the free publicity it can muster these days.

His side lost the affair because they made elementary errors on the field and failed to the hit the heights of recent weeks — not because of anything that was or wasn’t said. Expect more of the same before hostilities resume in early March.

But while Martyn Waghorn would never dispute that the game was settled over 90 minutes of play and not as a result of the trash-talking that preceded it, the scorer of Rangers’ killer fourth goal on the day admits that every one of Stubbs’ verbal grenades was carefully noted by the Ibrox camp.

‘It got us going a bit, to be honest,’ said the former Wigan man.

‘We kept quiet all week because we wanted to do our talking on the pitch and I think we did that with our performance and the way we conducted ourselves.

‘It was a bit strange that they were coming out with these comments and it just helped us get a bit more focused and determined to show everyone what we are capable of and what we can do.

‘It shouldn’t really need people talking like that to get us going, but it was a big game and it was them who were doing all the talking.

‘We had a couple of dodgy weeks and people were talking about crisis, but we were always top of the league and we have only lost two games in the league, so it wasn’t the end of the world. We will be judged in May.’

Waghorn remains utterly convinced that the verdict, when reached, will be overwhelmingly positive in his side’s favour.

For all Monday’s victory only stretched his side’s advantage over Hibs and Falkirk to three points, he feels Mark Warburton’s side have already demonstrated themselves to be the best side in the division. Hibernian’s claims of a downward slide in recent weeks simply didn’t compute with him.

‘To be honest, it’s what they do to try to get under our skins — they have done it every time we have played them,’ the 25-year-old said of Stubbs’ barbed remarks.

‘I think we have been the better team, though, and that’s no disrespect to Hibs. They’ve got some good players but, even when we went down to 10 men on Monday, we never looked like being in any bother.

‘Our shape was strong and we very solid.

‘We were the better side on Monday and we are the better team — that shows with where we are in the league.

‘Every team is going to have a dip and it’s how you react.

‘They can say what they want. Whatever games they try to play that’s up to them.

‘We know we can beat anyone in the league and we got the three points and now move on.

‘You’ve just got to take the comments on the chin.

‘It’s up to him (Stubbs) what he says and if that gets his team going, then he knows what’s best for his team.

‘But it’s been a bit ridiculous, the last week or so, with what has gone on.

‘I haven’t paid too much attention, I just wanted the three points and to rectify last week’s performance.’

The performance in question was, of course, that at Falkirk — a defeat that ended with Waghorn missing a late penalty to ensure his side had spilled 10 points in six games.

Having been roundly praised for the 20 goals he had claimed to that point, it was only right that he accepted the flak for allowing his standards to drop.

But it made his return to form — and a 21st of the season — against Hibs all the sweeter.

‘Falkirk was one of those games that happen every now and then and it was important for me to look back and learn from it and recognise where I went wrong,’ he reflected.

‘You can always improve and it’s about how you react to it.

‘Monday was a good game. I think the team’s performance was different class. The boys worked really hard. Personally, it was nice to get the goal.’

Given their stuttering form going into the game, Rangers undoubtedly succeeded in passing a stern test of character.

A similar scenario awaits today. A couple of thousand fans housed in Dumbarton’s solitary stand could hardly make for a sharper contrast to the 50,000 that jammed into Ibrox five days back, yet the incentive to win is just the same.

‘I can understand why people think that, but it’s not like that,’ Waghorn said of the comparable challenges.

‘For me, after I have scored a goal, my first thought is to get another goal. It’s the exact same with victories.

‘I’ve come here to be successful, to be the best I can be. I don’t want to be ever think I can just turn up willy-nilly and just get the three points. It’s not going to be like that — and I am pretty sure the boys all think that, too.

‘We know we have had a difficult few weeks and we’re focused on not going through that (poor run) again. We want to build the gap up to the way it was. We all know what’s at stake and we have to prepare for that.’

As professional as their outlook must remain, privately Warburton’s players will be hoping to consign trips like today’s to the past as quickly as possible.

If the choice of songs may, at times, have left much to be desired, Monday was a reminder of the kind of occasion that would again be commonplace next season if Rangers stretch out and lift the title come May.

‘It was different class,’ added Waghorn. ‘The first home game against St Mirren was amazing, but that was on a different level. I’ve never played in an atmosphere like that before. It’s where the club needs to be and, hopefully, we will be in the near future.

‘My friends and family texted me after watching it. They all said it was enjoyable and the atmosphere was good. You can’t really explain how good the atmosphere is until you experience it for yourself.’