Danny Rohl revealed he had a recent pep talk with Bojan Miovski as the striker’s double helped Rangers to a 3-0 win at Kilmarnock.
The Gers took the lead in the 33rd minute with a drive from the North Macedonia international, who added a second in the 54th minute with a fine finish from inside the box.
The goals doubled Miovski’s tally for the Govan club since signing from Girona in the summer and the points were clinched through a fine goal from substitute Mikey Moore after Killie boss Stuart Kettlewell was sent off by referee Kevin Clancy in the 72nd minute, presumably for dissent.
Rangers moved into fourth place in the William Hill Premiership, within six points of leaders Hearts and Celtic, who play at Parkhead on Sunday.
Rohl described the outcome as a “great result” and said of Miovski’s contribution: “For me, it’s a little bit of a result from the last seven days.
“We had a conversation with each other and then he made step-by-step a huge step forwards against Dundee United.
“He had some good chances. He’s more adaptable at the moment, not just staying on the last line, it helps in building up as well.
“I’m happy when a striker scores two goals, it’s fantastic.
“In general, we spoke about what I demand from him.
“He told also what he is thinking at the moment. And then I think, especially after the Falkirk game, we spoke about spaces, what I want to see from the centre-forward and big spaces.
“He has to come and you feel he has a little bit more freedom now, more adaptable and that helps us a lot.
“In the end, if you work hard then you can also score and you deserved to score.
“Then Mikey comes on, you see the quality in those 20 minutes.
“But all in all, a good team performance, great direction, put effort in and if you bring everything then you can win games in this league.”
Killie assistant Stephen Frail could not explain exactly why Kettlewell was sent off but was baffled by other Clancy decisions, including when Gers keeper Jack Butland tackled Bruce Anderson outside the box as the striker raced on to a short pass back by Connor Barron.
He said: “We’re disappointed with the goals that we lost. They were avoidable and that’s been our Achilles heel for large parts of the season.
“We should be 1-0 up when Bruce Anderson was through one-on-one with Jack Butland. He did well to lift it over him.
“It was cleared for a corner and that should have been given, but they pulled it back for offside, although he was around four yards inside his own half. It’s a big decision and we should score, Bruce knows that.
“But it was a momentum builder and he gives the free-kick halfway inside their own half, so we’re baffled by that decision.
“And then there’s a big decision to keep Butland on the pitch. It looks to us like a red card as he was out of control.
“Anderson gets to the ball. They’d made all of their subs, so they would’ve gone down to 10 men and had to play an outfield player in goal for the remainder of the game.”
