McCall Delight As Rangers Win

Pic: Jeff Holmes

Rangers boss Stuart McCall feels their 2-0 win over Hibernian could be a major shot in the arm for their promotion hopes after they finally ended a poor run against the Edinburgh teams. Rangers had lost all five of their Scottish Championship games against Hibs and Hearts before their Easter Road win, which handed the title to Robbie Neilson's side. Rangers had only won one out of their previous nine games and had drawn five in a row - two under McCall since he took over from caretaker boss Kenny McDowall - while Hibs had won their previous seven. Head-to-head form also favoured the hosts, who were 9-1 up on aggregate on league meetings this season. So the victory had added significance other than reducing Rangers' deficit on second-placed Hibs to three points. McCall said: "Firstly congratulations on winning the title to Robbie and his team. They have been outstanding all season. "From our point of view, we are delighted with the performance and the result. It's only one game but what it will do is restore a bit of confidence, which has obviously been sorely lacking. "If we want to go back into the top league then we will have to play Hibs in a two-legged decider. "If we had got beaten again then that would have been four defeats, so that will naturally help. "We want to go into the play-offs with a bit of momentum, spirit and confidence and players playing at the level they can play, and today will help them." McCall got his tactics spot-on - his three centre-halves restricted Hibs to few chances while allowing wing-backs Lee Wallace and Darren McGregor to get forward. Wallace scored a 44th-minute opener after McGregor had almost got on the end of Nicky Clark's cross and the left wing-back played a significant, if controversial, role in Kenny Miller's second with 10 minutes left. "We played a bit of a different shape to get into areas where we can cause them problems," McCall said. "I have tried to emphasise all week that we ain't coming here to be lambs to the slaughter. "We subdued them quite well and caught them on the counter. You can talk about formations and tactics but the bottom line is if the players show the desire and the willingness that they did today, then it's about players." Hibs head coach Alan Stubbs felt referee Willie Collum has spoiled the finale after failing to give a free-kick when Wallace ran into Paul Hanlon. The Hibs defender's clearance fell for Miller, who slotted home. Stubbs said: "I've been in management a short time. I was player a long time. Over the years, that decision would be given 100 per cent of the time. I think that's probably the best way to describe it without me getting into trouble. Not 90 per cent, not 99 per cent - 100 per cent. But a guy who has an influence over a game decided differently. "He's there to get the big calls right and he got a big call very, very wrong. "Everyone in the stadium could see it was a foul. There's no way you can dress it up - it was a foul - Paul was caught after he cleared the ball and in the laws of the game it was a foul. "It spoiled the game, although obviously not from Rangers' point of view. "We were on top at the time and had Rangers pinned back. We weren't necessarily creating clear-cut chances but the momentum was building and it was a hug blow to be stopped in our tracks like that. "However, it won't affect our season or what we want to do. We move on."