Rangers manager Derek McInnes said his side's 3-0 win over Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final gives his squad "a good reference" as they look to build on a dominant Old Firm display.
Skipper Dan Neil's double, either side of a Kevin Kelsy strike, eased Rangers to victory at Ibrox and set up a Hampden Park date against Aberdeen in the next round of the competition.
Rangers were the better side throughout what was a one-sided contest, putting a difficult start to the season behind them with a performance that delivered McInnes his first win in an Old Firm match since taking charge.
"Yeah, I think it's a good reference," McInnes said. "Obviously, when you're playing against a team like Celtic, you are not going to get it all your own way.
"I think we had to do so much right in the game to try and find any sort of advantage. I thought we asked a lot of the players today, particularly out of possession, to make sure that they did their work well.
"We had to play with a bit of risk and we exposed them to a lot of one-on-ones in certain areas. But I just felt as though for us to tap into the crowd, we had to go and play the way we did today."
McInnes added: "It's all right me seeing it in my head how it plays out. The players have to go and deliver the performance, running the hard yards, winning the challenges, winning the one-on-ones.
"We scored goals in good times, something we've not been doing. And the quality of the goals were terrific today. I think getting goals in good times helped us. Once we get the third goal, you start to feel that maybe they're going to get the job done. But we still have work to do against a team like Celtic because it can change."
Response to Conference League exit
The win came two and a half weeks after Rangers were eliminated from the Conference League on penalties by Czech side Jablonec, a result McInnes described as "sore".
"The performance that night was in complete contrast to today because it was a big game for us as a club," he said. "To deliver such a lacklustre performance, a performance that I wouldn't want to put my name to... I had to deal with that.
"I know the consequence of that. But we have to say, we didn't look ready as a club to deliver that and we should have been. So, there's a shared responsibility with that. Obviously, the majority of responsibility lies with me. But the performance today was exactly what was required. I'm pleased that, since that game, we've come quite a long way."
Saturday's victory made it five straight domestic wins for Rangers.
Building a new dressing room culture
McInnes has overseen a summer of transition at Ibrox and believes the squad he now has at his disposal is starting to create the culture he wants.
"I think the dressing room is exactly how I need my dressing room to be," he said. "I need us to take care of each other, I need us to love each other, I need us to be there for each other. The last three weeks, it started to feel like a dressing room that I identify with."
McInnes made a bold tactical call, playing a front two of Ryan Naderi and Kelsy, while left-back James Penrice was asked to push into midfield to make up the extra man when possible.
"I'm not going to praise people for their work rate, because that's what they should be doing anyway," he said. "I thought we never really gave Celtic a minute. When we couldn't get full press on, we got into a lower block and we were nice and compact. But there's two sides to it. There's the part you need to be really strong when you're going on the ball, but you also have to join in and take part in the game and show your aggression. And I thought both lads did that."
He reserved particular praise for Neil, who scored twice. "His two goals were brilliant, different types of finishes," McInnes said. "He gets the light shining on him a wee bit today because of the goals, but I thought his performance was really strong as well."
Rangers face Celtic again next week
Rangers travel to Celtic Park to face their rivals again in the Premiership next Sunday, and McInnes said his players must replicate their cup form.
Asked what the win might do for his players' confidence, he said: "I think that you get a lot of good if they win a derby game. Because we need to get the buy-in from the fans. We need the players to think that what we're doing is right as well. I think we take the good from it, the confidence, but it can quickly change.
"We need to keep our shoulder to the wheel. And you can see next week as well, we've got preparation to get ready for that one with Celtic next week and they are not going to just let us get away with that. They'll come back again next week, and we've got to be ready for that as well."
