Rangers surged into second place in the Premiership after their 2-0 victory over Aberdeen, with Danny Röhl describing his side as the league’s unexpected contenders in the title race.
The Ibrox outfit moved ahead of Old Firm rivals Celtic by seeing off the Dons in Govan, with first-half goals from Emmanuel Fernandez and Nico Raskin sealing an important win. The result cut the gap to leaders Hearts to just three points and came hot on the heels of Rangers’ derby triumph at Parkhead, completing a dramatic turnaround under Röhl.
When the German coach arrived in October, Rangers were languishing in sixth place and sat 13 points behind Hearts. Now, after a remarkable climb up the table, Röhl insists few predicted his team would be in the position they find themselves today.
“This is not a one-man show,” Röhl said. “We’re doing this together – the club, the players, the coaching staff and everyone behind the scenes.
“We’re growing as a group and we’re on a fantastic path. Since I’ve been here, I think we’ve surprised a lot of people. But I’m hungry and ambitious. I understand what this means and the work that’s still required until the end of the season.
“We have to keep pushing.”
Rangers face another meeting with Aberdeen on Sunday at Pittodrie as they look to maintain their momentum. While Röhl is keen for reinforcements, he has stressed patience in the transfer market, acknowledging the challenges of getting deals over the line.
“We’re in the process and working on it,” he explained. “I can’t say who will be in the squad by the end of the window. The board knows what we want to do, but we don’t know if we can achieve everything.
“I don’t expect all the signings to arrive on the final day. Something can happen earlier, but sometimes the right player only becomes available late in the window.
“We’re clear about the positions and the profiles we need. Now it’s about convincing players and bringing them here. From my experience, January signings often need time to settle into a group that’s already moving in the right direction.”
Röhl also praised his side’s mentality after a demanding Old Firm clash just days earlier and singled out Nico Raskin for special recognition following his man-of-the-match display.
“The three points and the clean sheet are the most important things,” he added. “I’m very proud of the group. In the last 15 minutes, you could feel how much energy we’d spent.
“We controlled the match, deserved the win and scored twice from set-pieces. Playing again so soon after the weekend is never easy, but we delivered again.
“Nico is a key player for me. He’s aggressive without the ball, dangerous from set-pieces and a leader on the pitch. Ten weeks ago, we asked for leaders – and he’s stepped up more and more. For me, there’s no question mark about Nico now.”
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