Dan Neil reveals what Rangers fans did to inspire Celtic demolition
Dan Neil admitted the influence of the Rangers support was "massive" as he reflected on an unforgettable afternoon after his side demolished Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox.
The midfielder produced the performance of his Rangers career to date, scoring twice as Derek McInnes' side swept aside their city rivals in the Premier Sports' Cup quarter final.
Kevin Kelsy also found the net for his first Rangers goal, but it was Neil who stole the headlines with a stunning brace.
'Unbelievable' Old Firm feeling
And speaking to Rangers TV after the final whistle, the 24-year-old struggled to put into words the significance of the afternoon.
"It was unbelievable. It's a bit of an adrenaline dump right now," Neil said.
"I need to give massive credit to all the lads. Everyone did their jobs to an absolute tee.
"The fans really were our 12th man today, and they helped us get that result.
"It was my first ever brace in my career. It was an unbelievable feeling scoring one, never mind the two. That’s a feeling that will live with me for a while."
Neil opened the scoring with a superb strike, Kelsy made it two, before Neil produced another composed finish from distance to put Rangers firmly in control.
"I can't really remember the first goal as it was a bit of a blur," he said.
"For the second one, because we were [already] 2-0 up, I was calm, and it was probably the better finish of the two.
"I tried to stay as calm as I could around the penalty box. It's not normally my forte, as I'm sure plenty of the lads will tell you from shooting sessions in training, but they went in today."
Supporter praise at Ibrox
While Neil's goals ultimately decided the contest, the Rangers vice-captain was keen to highlight the role played by the supporters throughout the afternoon.
He believes the atmosphere helped drive the players to maintain their intensity even after the result was effectively secured.
"The influence of the fans was massive, from coming into the ground, the warm-up, the first whistle to the absolute last," Neil explained.
"You could see the intensity of the lads, feeding off the fans and atmosphere, and running around at the end trying to find another goal while keeping a clean sheet when the game was pretty much done.
"It's a massive testament to the fans who kept us going, and a big credit to the lads for keeping on going."
Tactical domination
The result also represented a significant tactical improvement for Rangers, with Neil highlighting the more aggressive approach adopted by McInnes' side.
Rangers refused to allow Martin O'Neill's side to dictate proceedings and were able to win individual battles across the pitch.
"In previous games, we've had to surrender the ball, but today we were on the front foot a lot more," Neil said.
"There was a lot more man-to-man. The intensity and composure in transition – I thought we hurt them really well."
The midfielder believes keeping clean sheets must become a habit if Rangers are to build on their recent improvement.
"We need to build our foundations off not conceding goals because we have the talent down the other end to go and score goals," he said.
"A massive asset any team can have is keeping them out at your end.
"We've shown that over the last few games, and we need to keep building on our attacking play."
After a difficult period earlier in the campaign, Rangers have now put together a run of strong results and Sunday's Old Firm victory provided the clearest indication yet of the progress being made under McInnes.
With Rangers now advancing to the League Cup semi-finals, where they will meet Aberdeen at Hampden, the midfielder will hope Sunday's performance is the beginning rather than the high point of his Rangers story.
