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Rangers boss Derek McInnes insists his team will continue to hunt Celtic down after blowing the title race wide open with a victory at Parkhead.
A solitary goal from Ryan Naderi in the first half was enough to secure the win for Rangers as they moved to within two points of their bitter rivals ahead of the international break.
After also beating Celtic 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals last weekend, McInnes has now become the first Rangers manager since Graeme Souness to win his first two Old Firm derbies.
McInnes was delighted to see his team back up their performance at Ibrox with another triumph over a Celtic side in crisis despite their position at the top of the table.
With the title race now very much alive again, the Ibrox boss insisted that the scoreline ought to have been more emphatic, such was the level of dominance that Rangers had over the 90 minutes.
‘I’m absolutely delighted as I thought it was a thoroughly deserved three points,’ he said. ‘In the context of the season, it was very important.
Rangers manager Derek McInnes embraces match-winner Ryan Naderi at full-time
‘We’d have heard all about it if we’d lost and the gap was stretched to eight points at this early stage. That would have been uncomfortable for us.
‘So it was important to close that gap and also — with such a young squad _ having the belief and confidence to win a game in this environment.
‘Although we won 1-0, we should have scored more and added to it. While it’s 1-0, Celtic are always going to keep going in front of their own fans.
‘Martin (O’Neill) was trying everything to make something happen for them and you always feel Celtic will get a big chance. Very rarely is that not the case.
‘But we defended brilliantly as a team and winning here is another good reference point for us after last week.
‘It’s still early in the season, only September, and there’s 80-odd points still to play for, so no one is getting carried away. But to back up last week’s performance and result was really big for us.
‘We’re still in September but we need to keep winning, that’s the demand here. It’s just steps of encouragement for ourselves and the supporters. There’s something to work with and hopefully we can have a strong campaign.’
McInnes was delighted to get the better of Martin O'Neill and avoid falling eight points behind
After the European humiliation against Jablonec, Rangers have now reeled off six straight wins in all competitions, a run which has also yielded five clean sheets.
McInnes insisted that he can now trust his players to deliver big performances in big matches – and praised their powers of recovery.
‘We have come a long way since that night (against Jablonec),’ he continued. ‘I feel as though I have had a trust with my team over the last few weeks.
‘I feel we have developed that trust. I cannot have a team that I don’t trust. And I feel as though I’ve had that in the last few weeks.
‘But I wouldn’t say I was totally calm. When you see the talent that Celtic have invested in at the top end of the pitch, with other guys who have been over the course, you always know there is maybe a chance in them.
‘So I don’t think we were that calm. James Penrice felt his ankle, Dan Neil felt his calf and Cammy Devlin actually does his hamstring in the last five minutes of the game when we’d used all our subs.
‘Dujon Sterling was also feeling his hamstring a wee bit. We didn’t have our troubles to seek in that last part so it was a big effort from everybody to get over the line. Defensively we were excellent.
‘Trust is the most important thing for me. I need to trust my team and trust individuals within it. I don’t want to be a manager who doesn’t trust my team and I wasn’t sure where we were at the start (of the season).
McInnes was involved in an early flashpoint with Celtic coach Mark Fotheringham
‘Slowly but surely we’ve got that. The clean sheets underpin all that. The biggest drain of confidence is losing bad goals.
‘The determination to keep the ball out of our net — while playing with real attacking verve — is something we didn’t have in the first few games of the season.
‘I know we beat St Mirren 5-1 but other than that we weren’t playing with a panache or swagger. A Rangers team has got to show its teeth at the right time and have a cutting edge, and we didn’t have that at the start of the season.
‘I think we have that now, albeit we only scored one today. We have good togetherness and a good squad.
‘It’s only three points and it’s the same three points as the next time out when we play. But I do think it’s a good reference point, that when you come to a tough environment like this, that the players dealt with it.
‘I thought they would, to be honest. I felt there was a quiet confidence and belief coming here. I didn’t think we’d go under with the pressure of it all. But obviously you don’t know until you know. And obviously the players dealt with it.’
Rangers defender Olwethu Makhanya, who was named man of the match, said: ‘We expected a tough game, we had to be 100-per-cent focused.
‘Defensively, I’m really happy with how we played. It’s the togetherness. We spend a lot of time together outside training, getting coffee and things like that.
‘I feel like we’re a family. That gives us a reason to keep on fighting for one another.’
