Maligned Rangers figure seeking Bert Konterman effect as defining moment aids bid to turn Ibrox career around

Trimming the Premiership deficit with Celtic to 11 points may look superficial, but if Rangers are to somehow summon an unlikely tilt at the title, then giving their Glasgow neighbours a bloody nose on the second day of 2025 is as good a way to start it as any.

Perhaps maintaining their performance level is the harder part. Without a slew of first-team regulars - including two captains in James Tavernier and Jack Butland - Rangers put on a show in Govan. It is now whether that show can go on the road.

Rangers are in Edinburgh on Sunday lunchtime to face Hibs, who are resurging after their own terrible start to the season. This will not be an easy assignment for Philippe Clement’s men. In nine away games this season, they have only scored nine goals - only Ross County have netted fewer on enemy soil - and lost to Celtic, St Mirren, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock as well as draws against Hearts and Motherwell.

Given they have won away at Nice and Malmo and drawn at Olympiacos in the Europa League, such a bout of domestic travel sickness is hard to comprehend. The cause is probably rooted from teams making themselves hard to break down. Rangers enjoy games where it is open and there is space to counter. Even at Ibrox, there have been some narrow, nervy moments.

With wind in their sails from delivering a first Old Firm victory under Clement, perhaps a blue tornado will land on Easter Road. Certainly the Belgian has discovered his strongest forward line with Hamza Igamane at the tip and the creative trio of Vaclav Cerny, Nedim Bajrami and Ianis Hagi. Much was made of Clement’s tinkering during the Christmas period. Without those four players, they don’t carry the same threat.

Rangers may have to go again without goalkeeper Butland and right-back Tavernier - and indeed centre-halves John Souttar and Leon Balogun. Left-back Ridvan Yilmaz switched flanks against Celtic and kept Daizen Maeda very quiet. Dujon Sterling - a full-back by trade - was excellent at centre-half. And then there is his partner, Robin Propper.

The 31-year-old defender signed from Twente in the summer and in his first stint outside of the Netherlands, has taken time to adapt. Thursday was a moment for him, as he guided Rangers’ ragtag defence through an Old Firm match without any hitches. At the other end, he swept in the second goal from close range. Afterwards, with the adulation of Rangers’ fan media in front of him, one member legitimately asked him if he was aware of Bert Konterman, another maligned Dutchman who turned his Rangers career around on the back of a goal against Celtic.

Granted, Propper did not emulate Konterman with a rasper at Hampden from outside of the penalty box. But there are similarities. The Arnheim native has taken his time to adapt to the Scottish game, but there are signs of improvement.

“I know it's a big thing to score in an Old Firm,” said Propper. “For me it is as well, but to adjust in the team, to have my place in the room, in the squad, it's a different kind of football for me, so I need to adjust to that. I think I need time, I have the time, I try to do my best to adjust to that.

“I think in games I do really well, you see it in Europe, in these kinds of games. Of course I hope that it's for me this little thing to keep on going and to be better than I was.”

At Easter Road, he and his teammates must simply be the Rangers that skittled Celtic rather than the one that sunk at St Mirren. All that good work would be undone. Propper knows this.

“The key is consistency, because you see in this game we can win 3-0 from Celtic, but in the last game we lost at Motherwell,” he said. “So we need to be consistent in what we do and win every game to keep up with that.

“Celtic was a big game, so everybody wants to step up, everybody wants to take it to another level. Especially if you see that James is away, Jack is away, John and Leon are away. Of course, everybody wants to be better and help each other, but I think the quality is there.

“We have a really good team, we only have to show it every time and that's the hard part.”