THERE is always a risk of constantly rewriting the narrative in football and in doing so overexaggerating certain themes.

Time will judge yesterday's significance but after the humiliation suffered at Celtic Park, on the back of carelessly dropped points in Aberdeen and Dingwall, a ruthless and high-energy display against Hearts appeared a reaffirming of values. To become the champions again Rangers must act the aggressors, play to their strengths and perform with a style that appeases the support. In Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s words: “This is the way to go forward.”

Had Hearts taken one of two excellent chances soon after the restart the story could well have spun in a different direction entirely, perhaps fate was levelling up the scores after they equalised in stoppage time at Ibrox last year. As it turned out, the hosts added four to Alfredo Morelos’ opener in a second half that entertained, complimenting a performance that featured so many of the principles lacking for large periods this season.

Aggression without the ball, a refusal to gift territory unnecessarily, continued floods of attacks regardless of the score. The post-winter break results have eroded away at van Bronckhorst’s early momentum in the dugout, however, Sunday's response to capitulation in the opening 45 minutes of the Old Firm could hardly have been more emphatic.

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“Especially when we didn’t have the ball we didn’t want to wait,” the manager explained post-match. “We just wanted to pressurise Hearts.

“The energy was there, the pressing was there, the character on the pitch was there. So you know the supporters are going to back you. It was good to show the fans a game like this.”

The performance followed the apathetic showing against Celtic in which the opposition was gifted control with ease. Just as Ross County had scored three goals that ought to have been prevented with a front-foot approach and the first game of the year saw a lead lost at Pittodrie through negative tactics, a growing concern under van Bronckhorst has been rooted in his apparent passivity.

Yesterday’s 5-0 win could justifiably be regarded as the best performance of the season and the fact it has taken until February to give supporters such an afternoon tells a story of its own. Much of the goodwill felt towards the current group has been based on previous achievements rather than a prosperous 2021/22, the win over Robbie Neilson’s side mapped out the approach that must be adopted to ensure more memories come May.

The inclusion of Ryan Jack and John Lundstram offered a combative style in the centre of midfield previously traded off for an offensive system, that was initially regarded to be well needed but looked stale in the aforementioned fixtures. Jack produced the on-ball reliability not enough of this side can boast and drove forwards throughout; his midfield partner is yet to win over the Ibrox crowd but the scales may well have tipped ever slightly in his favour after yesterday. “We needed character after a performance like Wednesday and I knew John would bring that to the team with Ryan,” van Bronckhorst said.

Neilson’s men played an ambitiously high line that attempted to limit the space their hosts could play within but provided Rangers with an ideal environment. Three of five goals on the day came courtesy of balls played behind the defensive line while the champions swarmed aggressively if they lost the ball, always trying to push back the momentum towards the Hearts’ goal.

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Equally encouraging were the patterns and plans in possession. There was no repetitive passes played between Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun or struggles to start attacks. Scott Arfield was the press-setter out of possession but offered a consistent target for the midfield to hit in possession, sliding infield to receive with his back to goal and bring others into play. Combinations were constant on both sides of the pitch, knitted together nicely by a certain Colombian whose influence continues to grow.

Alfredo Morelos played as though all he had thought about while on international duty was this very fixture, Ryan Kent finally got his 2022 going with two excellent assists. Fashion Sakala would score from the bench and Arfield added a fourth with his left foot – sandwiched between was a cool Glen Kamara finish that likely meant a lot after his testing night on Wednesday.

The main failing of this season has been inconsistent tempo and energy, underpinning the talents available at Ibrox. Now acting as the chasing pack Rangers can no longer play reactively. Front-foot, aggressive football is the way to the league title.