RANGERS boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst spoke to Premier Sports following the 2-0 win over Hearts in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden.

Gio, your first trophy as a manager at Rangers. What does it mean to you?

It means a lot. I told the players before the game, we haven’t won anything yet. We worked so hard and we came so far in Europe and also in the cup, but in the end, we’ve got to have something in our hands as a reward and today we did.

After the disappointment of Wednesday, to have left empty-handed today would have left a different context on the season, that’s why it was important to get the victory?

It was very important. That’s why it’s always good to end the season with a trophy. It’s positive, we worked really hard and I think we looked much stronger in extra time and I think we deserved the win today.

How impressed have you been with the way your players have handled extra time? Unbeaten in open play on Wednesday, to go again today shows the mental strength to see the job out.

I’m very impressed and proud of them because it’s been a really demanding week with the final, yesterday with the farewell of Jimmy [Bell] and today, of course, we had to be there. We had a lot of pressure to get the trophy and in the end, we did.

It’s a great platform now for next season. When you look at your squad, do you expect it to be different or for the bulk of these players still to be here?

It gives a lot of energy. Next season is new, we can start all over again, I can start from day one. We just have to keep on working and, of course, we will see in the transfer window what happens but I think we’ll see some changes.

Is there an opportunity that the out of contract players like Davis and Balogun may still be here next season?

It depends. Of course, they are out of contract which is a luxury for players but I think they also want stability and once they make their minds up where their future will lie, we will tell but I’m really happy with the players. But we will just enjoy this time together and have a big party tonight and go on holiday tomorrow.