The rest of the Premiership won’t want to hear this but Giovanni van Bronckhorst insists there’s more to come from his rejuvenated Rangers.
The champions are starting to show signs they’re getting back to their best with the Dutchman now at the wheel.
Six games in and it’s five wins and four clean sheets for the former Feyenoord boss.
A backline that was creaking before Steven Gerrard departed is now holding firm, although it did take Allan McGregor to pull out some vintage stops and the woodwork to deny Hearts at Tynecastle.
Alfredo Morelos is back scoring consistently while Joe Aribo continues to look more and more like the stand-out candidate for player of the year.
As if that wasn’t ominous enough for Rangers ’ rivals.
But van Bronckhorst reckons his side have more levels to reach once he finally gets some proper time on the training pitch to drill in his ideas.
Asked if there was more to come from the league leaders, he said: “It’s good because we have to show desire every game we play and so far we are doing that.
“It has to be there to become successful and we just have to keep on going.
“We are happy with the win and enjoy the result and on Monday we work hard for the game against St Johnstone.
“I am happy with the result. It was going to be a difficult game to come here and it showed.
“We had to be on top of our game from the first minute and we damaged them a couple of times in transition moments so I was very pleased with the performance.
“It’s hard work from everyone. They are very open about getting in new ideas and working hard in training.
“Also in team meetings to make sure they do the stuff we want on the pitch.
“You can see that the more we train and talk with each other the better we become.
“We still have a lot of things to work on, but we have time and I am really happy with the past weeks.”
If there’s one thing that doesn’t need fine tuning, it’s Aribo’s first touch.
The Nigeria playmaker’s instant control killed Connor Goldson’s 40-yard pass stone dead before he rifled past Craig Gordon to double a lead produced by Morelos’ ninth-minute opener.
It’s now four in the last eight games for Aribo, who is thriving with the licence to roam he’s been handed by his new boss.
He said: “I want to score in every game that I can. I am just happy to be getting these numbers and keep improving and keep getting better.
“I got a bit of stick from Connor because I didn’t score an earlier chance so I was happy to score that
“Our game management was massive. We knew that we needed to stay solid and grind, push together and keep working hard. We were able to stop them from scoring.
“We know that every single day the boss wants us to improve and get better. We have to take on board what he is giving us and keep working hard and that is what we are doing.
“I just want to keep focussing on every single game and keep scoring. If I keep getting higher and higher numbers, that is my aim.”
Aribo scored nine goals in his first campaign in Glasgow and eight last year.
He’s already on six this season but should be aiming for double figures at the very least
And Van Bronckhorst has major plans for the former Charlton ace.
“He is very dynamic and we talk a lot with him and all the midfielders about when to be available in build up and when to take up spaces left by the opponent,” he said.
“He is doing better and better and it was a very important role today and with the goal he has taken it on.”
McGregor turns 40 at the end of next month but his reactions remain as youthful and vibrant as ever.
There were no signs of his ageing limbs creaking as he sprang to paw away Liam Boyce’s attempted lob three minutes.
There were two more vital stops to thwart the Northern Ireland striker before the final whistle and his part in the win did not go unnoticed by his boss.
“It’s always good to have a good goalie in goal, which Allan is of course,” said van Bronckhorst.
“At times he made some vital saves, so that’s why he helped to keep a zero again against a tough opponent.
“I think Hearts is third in the league and showed today why.
“They are a very competitive team and we had to be on top of our game and today we were.’’
Gers welcome St Johnstone to Ibrox on Wednesday but van Bronckhorst won’t be taking the new Premiership basement boys lightly.
He added: “They have done well and were very successful in the cup competitions.
“I haven’t seen much about the team because we were working on Hearts but we will prepare the players for the game on Wednesday.”
