Jimmy Nicholl explains what Mark Warburton’s Rangers proved in Aberdeen win

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After their dire defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle, Warburton needed a win.

Former Rangers defender Jimmy Nicholl has told the Glasgow Evening Times that Mark Warburton’s side proved a point in their 2-1 win against Aberdeen on Saturday.

The Glasgow giants were widely slated for their 2-0 defeat to Hearts in midweek, piling the pressure on Warburton and his players with Rangers as Old Firm rivals Celtic cruise at the top.

However, goals from Kenny Miller and Lee Hodson proved enough to secure a deserved, and much needed, win against Derek McInnes’s Dons, a result that ensures Rangers rise to second in the Scottish Premiership table.

The Gers have been pilloried on occasions for dropping points at Ibrox this season and Nicholls says the nature of the weekend’s win will have gone some way to answering the critics.

“There was a determination win 50-50s and win second balls,” Nicholls, who had two spells with Rangers in the ‘80s, told the Glasgow Evening Times.

“That doesn’t sound like a Mark Warburton side but sometimes your pride hurts when you get criticism and you could see the players wanted to make amends.

“Mark said that they had won five games out of seven, which was right, but at Rangers the fans only look at the last performance. You can win five in seven but it is about the last performance and the last result.

“You can’t turn round and say ‘I don’t know why they are upset after the Hearts game because our record was good’.

“If Rangers can improve again from the weekend going into the next game then they will be fine.”

As it stands, Rangers are leading the way in the race to be the best of the rest in the Scottish top flight this season, with their return to the Premiership after years toiling in the lower leagues proving to be as testing as many expected.

However, with more displays of character and determination, there is no reason why Warburton cannot lead his side to European qualification in their first campaign back in the big time.