Former Rangers star Andy Halliday has picked out a Rangers football board member for praise after the club’s thrashing of Hearts on Saturday.
The Light Blues were in imperious form against the Jambos and swatted the third-best team in the country aside at Ibrox like they were nothing.
Mohamed Diomande, Oscar Cortes, Fabio Silva and a brace from the resurgent Cyriel Dessers sealed arguably Rangers’ most convincing three points of the Scottish Premiership season.
Rangers boast the title race momentum at the moment but Celtic did respond a day later with a late show 3-1 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.
The gap between the Glasgow arch-rivals remains at two points as both now head into a tricky midweek card – Rangers face Kilmarnock away and Celtic host Dundee.
But there is no doubt that the blue half of Glasgow are feeling way more confident than the Hoops heading into each matchday.
Rangers recruited smartly in January, with the additions of Diomande, Cortes and Silva all proving to be a success so far. It’s in stark contrast to Celtic who signed Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn, the former of which the only to receive pass marks yet.
Andy Halliday, speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, thinks that the business done by Rangers director of football Nils Koppen in the transfer window could be a huge factor in where the title ends up come May.
The Motherwell midfielder thinks Koppen – who takes a lead role in recruitment at the Ibrox club – won the weekend because all three of Rangers’ January recruits scored against Hearts and are proving to be excellent additions to Philippe Clement’s first-team squad.
Andy Halliday commends Nils Koppen
Programme host Gordon Duncan asked Halliday for his top performer of the weekend’s Scottish football action and the 32-year-old responded: “I’m going outside the box as well.
“I’m going to go Nils Koppen. Anyone who doesn’t know who that is, he is is the technical director and head of recruitment at Rangers Football Club.
“I believe that the three January recruits Rangers have made could be – and I stress could be – the difference between where the title is headed.
“I thought you seen that in full effect on Saturday against Hearts. I thought the impact of (Mohamed) Diomande and (Oscar) Cortes on the starting XI has been a revelation to add to the squad.
“And Fabio Silva and Cyriel Dessers seem to be doing that ‘ham and egg’ role perfectly where one comes in, scores a goal and gets rested the next game and the other one comes in and scores a goal as well.”
