A huge call. He may have been rested, or that was the official line from the manager, but it was a shot across the bows of everyone. If Connor Goldson can be dropped - anyone can.

It’s been entirely necessary. Goldson hasn’t been in his best form and not only that, his constant need to throw it forward was affecting the style of the team. One of the biggest takeaways from the game on Sunday was the lack of long balls from our centre-backs. They can be good and effective, but recently they have become wasteful and simply give the ball back to the opposition. 

Leon Balogun brought enthusiasm to the defence, some much-needed pace, and he put himself on the line, time and time again, to head and clear it away. His performance was exactly what was needed. 

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Now the manager has a nice headache because Balogun can’t be dropped on that performance. His counterpart, John Souttar, had a few moments in the semi that perhaps might swing the manager towards Goldson and Balogun reuniting. But that change and the lack of long balls was complimented by something else - the return of Mohamed Diomande.

I was hosting a live night with Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd on Friday and both of them said Diomande was a touch of class and they see huge things for him. I found that interesting because both of them are top former players who know a player when they see one. I was determined to watch him closely at the weekend and I wasn’t disappointed. 

What he does off the ball is very clever. Never stationary, he always moves quickly into space and he pops it off very well. Full of enthusiasm and energy, Dio's press and running power were key against Hearts. In turn, John Lundstram looked much more like his old self. He had someone to bounce the ball off, someone to naturally cover space. A midfielder naturally comfortable in midfield. Revolutionary isn’t it?

Diomande with a number six next to him, maybe even Dujon Sterling in that central area, and Rangers have the makings of an exciting engine room. Adding a proper six who can dictate play may be the making of them both and I wonder how high up on the transfer wishlist that position is. Sometimes you don’t realise what a player brings until he’s not there and that was the case with Diomande. It’s also no surprise that Lundstram and Todd Cantwell looked a lot better and brighter. 

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It wasn’t all positive at the national stadium. Hearts got into some really good positions and Jack Butland still had three brilliant saves throughout the 90 minutes, which will concern Rangers. But Hearts are a good side, let’s not forget that.

For Rangers, it’s about taking the positives, building on the rest and then knitting it all together. A Scottish Cup final spot has been banked, so there are six cup finals to concentrate on, six games where this squad have to give it everything. The league is now a long shot but five victories may just reignite something, even if it’s just form in time for the final.

Focus and concentration on performance is all that is required. Where that takes us will be decided but, for now, we must build on the semi-final. It had positives and negatives but two were the performances of Balogun and Diomande and if others can deliver just as much then we may just land a trophy before the season's end, despite how unlikely that appeared after County and Dundee. On to the next one.