Joe Aribo believes Rangers are proving they have the fortitude to complement their flair in pursuit of the Scottish Premiership title.
The Nigerian international midfielder lit up proceedings at Ibrox on Boxing Day with his sublime touch and movement in the 1-0 win over Hibernian.
But like the rest of his teammates, Aribo was also more than willing to engage in the less aesthetically pleasing aspects of the game when Rangers had to dig in and repel Hibs’ admirable efforts to salvage a point in the second half.
Aribo feels Saturday’s match was the type in which Rangers may have dropped points in the previous two seasons.
“That is 100 per cent the kind of game we might have slipped up in before,” he said. “We know we need to go out there and stand up together.
“We need to be there for each other because we know it’s not always going to be easy, so we have just got to win our games.
“We can’t let other teams get momentum and have us penned in. We need to keep pushing and fighting and make it harder for the opponents to get set and playing. We need to fight as a team and that’s how we’re going to get the best out of each other.
“We are showing that fight and that when we are under the cosh, we can stand up and put our bodies on the line as a team. You are definitely seeing that now.”
Aribo’s season has been disrupted by both injury and illness.
He missed 10 games after suffering an ankle injury in August, then was sidelined for another couple of matches by a stomach bug at the end of November.