Rangers may have beaten Hearts out of sheer grit and determination but, it was Danilo who proved to be the matchwinner on the day.
The 24-year old has had a frustrating start to his career at Ibrox after a reported £6m move, however, as he nears full fitness, he could be set to play a key role.
When Rangers manager Philippe Clement was asked about the impact of Danilo off the bench, it is clear that a difference in mentality is sweeping through the club, as seen on RTV.
Rangers boss Clement wants more from Danilo
Previously, managers would have been quick to compliment the Brazilian striker’s influence on the result but, as we have seen so far, Clement is made of different stuff.
You get the feeling that, if his players reach the heights set for them, he will only move the bar higher again so that complacency isn’t an option.
Speaking to Rangers TV about Danilo and what he produced, Clement was quick to bring the summer signing back down to earth:
“He still has a lot of improvement that he can make in the game and being available but it is a very important goal and he is looking bright for an amount of minutes in the training.
“He had his injury, he was a long time out.
“He was not in top physical shape so we need to do step by step building him.”
Of course, Clement is right, there will be elements of Danilo’s game that he will need to work on, if he was perfect, he wouldn’t be at Rangers.
A gradual increase in his minutes since returning to fitness following surgery to his fractured cheek saw him play 45 minutes against Hearts and a start against Dundee must be next on the agenda.
One thing that Danilo can’t be labelled with is being wasteful, a goal every 65 minutes domestically puts him miles out in front in terms of who is our most clinical striker.
At the moment, his weaknesses are almost irrelevant when he is producing numbers like that.
