Michael Beale was full of praise for Johnly Yfeko after watching his side defeat Hamburg at Ibrox.

The Light Blues ran out 2-1 winners in the pre-season friendly, with a host of players getting more valuable minutes in their legs, including the 20-year-old defender.

The domestic season is just two weeks away. Rangers face an away game at Rugby Park on matchday one of the Premiership campaign.

And Beale was satisfied with his players’ efforts against the club’s German counterparts but did highlight the importance of continuing to push his players hard in the coming days.

“Really happy. We obviously used a lot of players again,” Beale explained. “Second-half you can see Kemar and Tom when they come on. It’s just great to see them back. They and Cyriel have got to pick up on their fitness, but I'm excited by the amount of forwards we've got and again, we got a goal form our pressing.

“Fashion got a goal in the system. Overall, again I thought it was another step in the right direction. I'm really pleased.  

“There was some really good moments in the game. Jack didn’t have much to do, it’s disappointing to lose a goal but it’s a great strike. It can happen in the game, if I look back and see maybe a sloppy free-kick to give away, and certainly at moments we could have scored a lot more goals. We had some really big chances.

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“That was the story last season and hopefully by the end of preseason, we're not talking about that going into the league. I want us to be more ruthless, but some of the play was good. We mixed the minutes up. I thought Bailey Rice came on again and showed the talent that we need to nurture and keep pushing on because there's a big opportunity for him.

“Big Johnly Yfeko again is becoming the big surprise of preseason, making everybody smile and I thought Sam Lammers came on again and showed his quality. So, all in all, it was a really positive day. No injuries. Everyone's played minutes and the competition of the places is where I want it to be.”

On his side’s schedule ahead of their next pre-season game against Olympiacos, Beale added:” It will be a double session again on Monday. I'll give them some time tomorrow with their families as we don't have much time on Monday's double session.

“We'll train hard, we'll train hard again Tuesday, so we're not going into the game with fresh legs. We're going into it with heavy legs because I want them to feel the benefits when we come off them a little before the season. It's important. Cyril and Kemar’s only just been in three or four sessions. They're getting used to it.

“Abdullah showed his pace and his energy. What I like about the players that have come in and they've got a real innocence to work really hard for each other and if they keep that, it will give them a great chance because I think we have talent, but it's important that one of the team talents is hard work.”