Rangers striker Danilo has heaped the praise on his mental coach after returning from a brutal face injury to score the winner v Hearts.
The Brazilian hitman, 24, scored three minutes into injury time to complete a dramatic Rangers turnaround as the Ibrox side pipped the Jambos 2-1.
Whilst Philippe Clement has been effusive in his praise of his team’s mentality, Danilo has been speaking about the role of mental coaching in getting back to his goalscoring best.
It comes after the former Feyenoord hitman – who joined Rangers in a £5.6m deal in the summer – fractured his cheekbone in the 2-0 win over St Johnstone earlier in the season.
As a result, Danilo is wearing a protective mask but by his own admission that isn’t going to stop him from reaching his best with Rangers as he nets his fourth goal for the club v Hearts.
“When I wear the mask, it’s like a totally different guy,” said Danilo. “ I really like it just now.
“I’d just like to thank the docs because they did a great job. Will I keep on wearing it on my face when I don’t need to? I’m too handsome!
“I also have a mental coach who helps me every Tuesday. When I had my surgery, I knew my moment would come. I was keeping in touch with the doc every day. She encouraged me to make duels.
“She knew this moment would happen and then it would be about my reaction. I just kept myself positive and I think that helped me a lot. During training, it’s something different but in the games you get adrenaline. I don’t know how long I’ll keep wearing the mask.
“The mental coach has helped me a lot, it’s changed my mentality since I had the surgery on my face. She just keep me feeling brave and believing in myself. I’m glad that I’m scored again with my head because she was saying to keep remembering that the last time I scored it was with my head.
“I also had a mental coach before in Holland who helped me with a lot of situations. It’s great to have one. It helps to clear your head. If you have some problems then there is someone to share, even though you have a wife. I’m really happy to have someone to help me after my surgery.”
Danilo praises Rangers mentality after Hearts turnaround
Rangers striker Danilo has also been heaping the praise on his Ibrox teammates after the late show against Hearts as he praised the camaraderie in the dressing room.
Whilst the Ibrox side huffed and puffed for 90 minutes against Hearts, the club got the equaliser eventually and then went on to get a winner.
Hearts boss Steven Naismith might bemoan the penalty call which led to Rangers evening up the score, but Danilo has pointed to a growing mentality in the Ibrox side.
“It was a special night for us,” said Danilo. “I’m just glad we’ve got the three points at home.
“Getting that late goal was a signal for us, it shows our spirit and the character that we have. The game lasts 90 minutes, but we didn’t give up. As a team, we did a really great job to get the three points.
We’re looking forward to our next game already. And hopefully we will get the three points again. The spirit of the group is great. We’re just try to keep making each other feel positive.
“You know, with our qualities we can make it happen. I think Tavernier today did a brilliant job. He scored the penalty and gave the final assist for my header so the mentality of the group is great.
“We’re just trying to keep that belief in each other, no matter who starts and who is on the bench. The group is amazing.”
Rangers cut the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to five points with the victory over Hearts and let’s hope to see more of Danilo in the weeks and months ahead.
