Walter Smith admits points are more important than performances as Rangers head towards the business end of the season still in the hunt for three more trophies.
The Clydesdale Bank Premier League game against Hibernian at Ibrox may not have been pretty to watch at times but goals from Jean-Claude Darcheville and Nacho Novo secured a 2-1 win to remain in pole position in the title race.
Now six points clear at the top of the table, the pressure is all on Celtic ahead of their SPL clash against Gretna. Then comes a pivotal match in the campaign when both teams meet in the second Old Firm derby of the season.
Story continues below...
The victory over Hibs marked Rangers' 50th game of what is proving to be a gruelling campaign and Smith hopes his players still have plenty left in the tank to finish the season in style.
He said: "It was an afternoon where we got the win we were looking for more than anything else. We had to work very hard for that.
"From now until the end of the season that's going to be the most important thing. There were spells when the game was scrappy and there were spells where there were patches of good football.
"We were just delighted to get the win and I felt we had two good finishes to secure that win. There is going to be an element of tiredness but we have to overcome that.
"It's something that's going to be there until the end of the season.
"There is a great desire within our group to go and win and I would hope they continue that until the end of the season.
"It might be like today's game, where there were patches of scrappy play, but, overall, we can only ask them to continue winning and they are doing that."
Novo wrapped up the points late on after Darcheville had claimed Rangers' 100th goal of the season.
"I didn't know that actually but it's a pleasing statistic considering we don't play any forwards," said Smith dryly, making reference to criticism of his system of playing with one striker.
"Both of them had good finishes today and I was delighted for them to get the goals."
Up to 10 players will be involved in international duty next week with several of those set to take part in George Burley's debut as Scotland manager when they face Croatia at Hampden on Wednesday.
"You always have a concern injury-wise," admitted Smith.
"I don't bother so much about the number of games we have, it's the number of injuries we are liable to get that can spoil it.
"So far we have been quite fortunate and we are managing to handle it. With an international game, we just hope that those who play don't come to an harm."
Dean Shiels ensured a tense finale to the game when he came off the bench to pull a goal back for Hibs with two minutes to go but boss Mixu Paatelainen had no complaints about returning to Edinburgh empty-handed.
"We must play much better than that," he said.
"People talk about Rangers players being tired but their midfield beat us to every ball. They wanted to be first to every ball, they were hungrier to get on the ball and make it happen, and that's why they won the game.
"We lost terrible goals today and it wasn't our best performance defensively, that's for sure. There is no point working on tactical things during the week if the concentration isn't there."
The defeat cost Hibs the opportunity to reclaim third spot after Dundee United's win over Motherwell earlier in the day.
"It won't be plain-sailing," said Paatelainen. "Come May 18, whoever is third will get the bronze medal.
"We want to win every game we participate in, whether it is a cup game or a pre-season friendly, and this game was no different."
A GUARANTEED PROFIT OF AT LEAST £36.50 ON SOUTHEND v DONCASTER
Did you know that it is possible to win money on Friday evening's League One Play-Off clash between Southend and Doncaster, whatever the result?
The game kicks off at 7.45pm and we can guarantee you a profit of at least £36.50, whatever the result of the match. All you have to do is follow the simple instructions below and then sit back and enjoy the game. At full-time, you will be at least £36.50 better off, whatever the result of the match.
We must point out that if you want to take this bet, you should do it now because if the odds change, then the figures here will be invalidated. If they have changed, let us know and we will rework the bet for you.
You can still do this if you have a Betfair account but your overall profit will be reduced by £25.00 as you won't receive the £25.00 cashback as an existing account holder.
If you are unsure about this bet, you are most welcome to call us on 01642 223229 and we will help you as much as we can.
We're going to lay out a total of £71.00 on the Southend v Doncaster match and we will collect £107.50 if Doncaster win, £107.50 if Southend win and £107.81 if it's a draw. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much higher interest rate than you will get in any high street bank.
Here's how it's done. Just follow these simple instructions.
1. Open an account with Coral. It is really important that you enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Open an account with Betfair. It is really important that you enter the promotional code of BFB425 when prompted. This is to ensure that you receive your bonus.
Place £20.00 on Doncaster at 2.75 (7/4) with Coral.
Coral will now add a £10.00 bonus to your account. Place this on Doncaster as well. You will now have £30.00 riding on Doncaster.
Back the draw with £26.00 at 3.3 (9/4) (or higher if available) with Betfair.
Place £25.00 on Southend at 2.15 (23/20) with Extrabet.
Extrabet match your first bet up to £25 so you will now have £50.00 riding on Southend.
The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site.
If you are unsure about placing these bets, please feel free to mail us or call us on 01642 223229 and we will talk you through it, no problem at all. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
You have temporarily laid out a total of £71.00 on the Southend v Doncaster match. I stress, temporarily... Now sit back, crack a beer open and enjoy the match.
4. Here's what happens at the end of the game.
If Doncaster win, you collect £107.50. That's £82.50 from Coral plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If it's a draw, you collect £107.81. That's £82.81 from Betfair plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
If Southend win you collect £107.50. That's £82.50 from Extrabet plus a £25.00 cashback from Betfair.
5. This means that the worst case scenario on the Southend v Doncaster match is no draw and you make £36.50 profit. However, if it is a draw you make £36.81. That's a minimum profit of 51%, a much better rate of interest that you would get at any high street bank or building society.
6. It is absolutely vital that you click on the links on this page to open the accounts with the two bookies and enter the correct bonus codes or you may not qualify for the bonuses.
Also, before you place your bets, you should check that the odds haven't changed. If they have, let us know by mail or phone us on 01642 223229 and we will rework the bet for you.
Please feel free to contact us or phone us on 01642 223229 if you have any questions at all about this bet and we will help you as much as we can.
Please note that the bonuses are valid for new customers only so if you already have an account with one or more of the bookies we are using, you won't be able to do this. If that is the case, mail us or phone us on 01642 223229 and we'll create an alternative bet for you using different bookies.
This method of betting was used very successfully during the 2006 World Cup and you can read all about how it was done right here.
We guarantee this bet
It's understandable that some people will not believe that it is possible to do this. "What's the catch?" I hear you asking. My answer to that question is that we have been publishing arbitrage bets for four seasons now and literally hundreds of people have profited from following the advice on these pages.
Only twice has our refund guarantee been triggered and that was when we did all the figures wrong and sent refunds out to those who had followed our advice and made a small loss.
Our refund guarantee works like this. If this bet doesn't work like we say it will and you end up out of pocket, we will refund your losses. Simple as that.
That means that you simply cannot lose on this, whatever happens and even if we messed up the numbers.
The only stipulation here is that you must click on the links on this page to be eligible for the refund guarantee, not that you'll be needing to claim anyway. Just enjoy the profit and stay posted for many more of these throughout the season.
