If Michael Beale's demeanour was suddenly significantly more chipper in the aftermath of Rangers' 4-0 win over Livingston - one man can lay a strong claim to have helped improve the manager's mood.
Abdallah Sima was the match's key contributor, scoring the first and forcing the game-ending third with his cross being diverted into the Lion's net by the despairing Luiyi de Lucas. Beale said afterwards the Senegalese forward "showed the way with his running off the ball" and praised the tireless energy and creativity shown in his promising partnership down the left with Ridvan Yilmaz. The Englishman insisted after the match it was this duo who won the game - with their energy leading to the first two goals.
The young Turk scored a wonderful second with a powerful run from deep. Cutting through from his own half with a burst of pace, it brought back memories of similar goals scored at Ibrox by Paul Gascoigne. There can be no higher praise than invoking that icon from days gone by, but such was the quality of the moment, such a comparison is deserved. And while the stardust sprinkled by the full-back delivered the game's most memorable juncture, it was Sima's contribution that was more telling.
Signed on a year-long loan from Brighton in the summer after two troubled loan periods, he seems slowly but surely getting into his Ibrox groove with four goals in five starts. Such numbers were a struggle at Stoke, where injuries meant he barely featured, and at relegation-haunted Angers in Ligue 1 where Sima tasted the heat of a relegation battle but had little help in the final third. The 22-year-old is happier to have found a place where there's an onus to get on the front foot.
He said: "When I joined here, I was expecting these types of games and to score goals. I have had some bad seasons, I can say that. This team is a very big one though, with big players so I'm happy to be here. It's easier when you play with big teammates. They help you to go forward and I get good chances. I hope to keep pushing.
"I'm very, very happy to score goals and we know when we play at home it's something special for all our players. I'm happy to help the team. The win and the clean sheets are the most important thing. Now we have to focus on the next game."
And Sima isn't one to let the Ibrox pressure cooker, evidenced by a cacophony of booing after the fortuitous win over Motherwell last weekend, get to him. As a versatile forward, he's capable of playing across the front three and if that means sometimes creating rather than scoring - so be it. Beale has previously said he feels his player's most natural role is as a number 9, but Sima seems more focused on minutes on the grass than where the manager deems to position him.
"I don't mind where I play. If the manager needs me on the left wing, the right or as a striker, I'm ready to help the team and score goals. I don't put pressure on myself. It's hard not to when you don't score - but you have to think to yourself, 'that's football'. Sometimes these things happen," he said. "With this team and the quality in it, it's easier for a striker to score goals and that's why I joined this club. Everything is good for me and that's the same for all of the strikers here. We have to keep working hard and keep going.
"We understand the fans want to see good football and enjoy the games. We accept that. The pressure for us is normal. This is Rangers so we have to have this pressure to do well. The most important thing is our performance tonight and we have to enjoy this."
The win over Livingston means Rangers now face Hearts in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden but nobody at Ibrox is looking that far down the line. Despite four clean sheets and wins in a row, the pressure is still very much on following defeat in the Old Firm derby at the start of the month. For the players, they can only look to make amends one game at a time.
Sima said: "For the club, we have to win everything. We focus on the next game. It's game by game and our next one is against Aberdeen in the league. The semi-final, we will look to afterwards. Every game is important for this season. Aberdeen will be a good game and like to play against big teams. We will be ready."
