Steven Gerrard saluted Kemar Roofe for roaring back from personal disappointment to bag a deadly double and blast Rangers to their biggest Old Firm derby win for 14 years.
The former Anderlecht and Leeds man conceded possession with a wonder strike attempt which led to St Johnstone’s last-gap leveller in the league before missing his spot-kick days later in the Scottish Cup penalty shoot-out loss to the Perth men.
Roofe was also sent off just six minutes after coming on as a substitute in the Europa League defeat to Slavia Prague at Ibrox on the night Gerrard’s men crashed out of the competition.
But red-hot Roofe, a £4.5 million summer signing, was on to form as he netted a brace in the 4-1 romp against Celtic at Ibrox with Alfredo Morelos and substitute Jermain Defoe also on target against 10-man Hoops at Ibrox.
Odsonne Edouard cancelled out Roofe’s excellent chested opener but John Kennedy’s men, who had Callum McGregor sent off in the first half, had no answer to the Light Blues as they piled on the derby pain as the champions moved a staggering 23 points clear of their fierce rivals.
It was the biggest derby win for Rangers since a 3-0 victory at Ibrox in October 2007 and Gerrard said: “Kemar has had a mixed few weeks in terms of how it’s gone for him from a personal point of view but he’s responded in a fantastic way in terms of how it went.
“He was certainly in the running for man of the match. His two goals were fantastic - striker’s goals - and his all-round build-up play was strong.
“He played big for us and over the course of the season we needed that type of firepower to add to Defoe, Morelos and Itten and over the season Kemar Roofe has certainly delivered.”
Gerrard admitted the red card for McGregor for a second yellow card in the build-up to the first goal was crucial but said they earned that as they made it six games unbeaten against Celtic.
He said: “I’m not going to lie to you, it always makes it easier (when the opposition are reduced to 10 men) but these games are always decided by big moments and you have to make sure they go your way.
“But you’ve got to be focused and concentrate throughout the 90 minutes. It was a fantastic goal and the referee got the decisions right because he stopped a promising attack.
“We’ve worked for those moments and the moments have gone in our favour and that’s what you need if you want to be on the winning side in the Old Firm.
“It’s a big rival and important game regardless of when it falls or what’s at stake in terms of the season.
“It was a really strong performance. I picked a real strong, bold team. We needed Kemar, Alfredo and Ryan to be the difference for us in the final third and we ran away with it in the end.
“From a team point of view, the consistency is always something we’re striving for - especially at home.”
Ally McCoist was the man in charge the last time Gers hit four against Celtic a decade ago when Gers won 4-2 at Ibrox.
Gerrard said: “It’s been a while since you’ve seen that scoreline. It’s the likes of Ally (McCoist) and previous players and the success of this club we’re trying to respect and add to.
“I’m sure Ally is really proud of the boys’ performance over the season. I certainly am and I’m sure a lot of ex-players and managers are.
“I just spoke to Alex McLeish and they’re the reason why it’s so difficult to be at Rangers because of the success and how good they were at doing their jobs on the pitch and as managers.
“It’s our job to carry that on and add to it and we’re striving to be better and we’ll continue to do that.”
The only downside for the Light Blues was an injury to Borna Barisic late on and, speaking to Sky Sports, Gerrard said: “Borna’s got a tight quad. We’ll check it out.
“His assist for the goal was fantastic - he was up and down all day long - so hopefully it’s just a bit of fatigue but we’ll check it out with a scan and fingers crossed it’s not a big issue but Joe Aribo showed no ego and slotted in there and did a fantastic job for the team.
“We’re down to the bare bones in certain positions but we’ve got honest lads who will fill and do a good job for the team.”
