It’s taken Hamza Igamane slightly longer to make his announcement at Ibrox than it did Connor Barron, but the Rangers midfielder is sure his Moroccan teammate is now prepared to have his say.
Igamane was the standout for Rangers in Nice on Thursday night, scoring twice and creating another goal in a commanding 4-1 win. Philippe Clement’s side have been nearly faultless in the Europa League and all but ensured their place in the next round with three points at the Allianz Riviera. The task now is to take maximum points from three league fixtures in the course of a week with domestic form continuing to frustrate supporters.
Discussing his teammate ahead of tomorrow’s meeting against St Johnstone Barron highlighted Igamane’s ability to lead Rangers from the front in France, both literally and figuratively the win owed to his individual showing.
“Hamza was brilliant the other night. He led the line so well and obviously got his two goals,” he said.
“Defensively as well, he's done his bit for the team, so it was great to see that. We've got boys coming in and making an immediate impact.
“I don't really know how it feels for him personally [settling in], but I think we've got a great group of boys and great staff around to make everyone feel welcome and he's settled in very quickly.
“Like you saw the other night, it didn't look like he's come from somewhere else. I can only say from my side that I settled in pretty much week one. I felt like I was part of the team and I think that's a good thing. We've got that unity within the squad.”
Barron was part of a below-par performance against Dundee United last week at Ibrox that saw Rangers fall 11 behind Celtic in the league table. Ahead of a trip to Perth, they remain as close to 10th spot as the top. Kilmarnock visit Ibrox on Wednesday night and then Clement’s men travel north to Ross County before the small matter of playing Spurs and Celtic.
“All we've got to do is take it one game at a time. Obviously another positive result and we go again,” Barron said when asked about the need to build up some form ahead of the upcoming League Cup Final.
“It's about the momentum we've got. We've got to go again and we've got to take that with us and keep building on it. It was a top performance, a team performance [In Nice].
“You've seen a group of boys out there ready to go and fight for their club and that's what it should be every week. Yeah, we go and continue that on Sunday, hopefully. We learn from our mistakes. We keep the positivity there within the group, which is there. You saw that on Thursday. It's about starting a run now.”
Every positive night in Europe Rangers have achieved so far this season has been followed by a disappointing domestic showing. A win away in Malmo was quickly denounced by a home hammering at the hands of Lyon. A point at Olympiacos came just before those dropped against Dundee United. Unable to put a finger on what exactly has been the Ibrox side’s issue translating form on the continent to domestic showing, Barron reaffirmed that things in football “can change quickly”.
“Yeah, it's one of them, I don't know. We just need to keep going and keep doing the right things. Keep positive. As I said, football changes quickly and we just need to keep doing our jobs," he added.
“[The dressing room] definitely it's positive. It's a humble group. We know what we've done tonight. We know it was a good result, but we've got to turn quickly. Just after a defeat, you've got to turn back and come back to realisation quickly.
“It's probably the same after a win, you've got to bounce back again. It's a humble group, but we're willing to go again. It's about us putting a smile on the supporters’ faces. On Thursday we did that and it's about us going again and doing that on Sunday.”
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