Robin Propper insists Rangers have to use their 3-0 thumping of Celtic at Ibrox on Thursday as a catalyst for consistency.
The Dutch defender doubled the home side’s lead in the 66th minute with a close-range finish following a corner after Ianis Hagi’s early opener, with substitute Danilo adding a late third to cut the Hoops’ lead at the top of the William Hill Premiership to 11 points.
The manner of victory came as something of a surprise not only because Philippe Clement’s side were without key players such as skipper James Tavernier, Jack Butland, Leon Balogun and John Souttar, meaning Liam Kelly made only his second appearance in goal with left-back Ridvan Yilmaz playing on the right side of defence.
In addition, Rangers went into the game with Clement under increasing pressure following a defeat at St Mirren and a draw at Motherwell.
Ahead of the match against Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday, Propper called for the welcome derby win against the odds to be a benchmark.
The 31-year-old said: “That was a big game, so everybody wants to step up.
“Everybody wants to take another level, and especially if you see that James is away, Jack is away, John and Leon are away.
“Then everybody wants to be better and help each other. But I think the quality is there.
“We have a really good team and we have to show it every time and that is the hard part. We try to do that and I think we can and this was a game where you have seen that we can do a lot.
“I think that’s the key, to be consistent. These kind of games are different than maybe away games at St Mirren or Motherwell. So you have to adjust every time in that kind of game.
“Of course, the key is consistency because you have seen in this game, we can win 3-0 over Celtic but the last time we had a draw at Motherwell so we need to be consistent in what we do and to win every game.”
With so many changes to the defence, Propper was happy to accept extra responsibility.
He said: “We missed a lot of experienced guys, guys who are always playing. So then we need to be extra focused, and the other players coming in did really well.
“And for me it’s the same if I play with Dujon (Sterling) or Leon (Balogun), it doesn’t matter. I try to play my game and we try to help each other.”
Propper, who joined Rangers from Twente in the summer, was delighted to get his first Old Firm goal which turned the game further in the Light Blues’ favour.
He said: “That’s a big feeling, because they know it’s really hard for them to come back.
“And it was a big moment in the game, of course, but still, you have to be focused on the rest of the game, to win your duels, to be compact, and in the end you wait for that final result to be happy with it.
“It was a really good game from us, we played very well. We had good defence, good attacking and a lot of chances. So it was a really good feeling to get three points.”
