Gio van Bronckhorst insists he's thrilled to see his new Rangers signings settling in - because making the headfirst jump into life at Ibrox is non-negotiable. Van Bronckhorst's side continued their flawless start to the new Premiership campaign with a 4-0 thumping of St Johnstone on Saturday.
Summer arrivals Malik Tillman, Tom Lawrence and Antonio Colak and were among the goals, while Rabbi Matondo contributed two assists, including one for sub Scott Arfield. It's been an extensive summer recruitment drive for Van Bronckhorst and one that's showing signs of success already.
And the Rangers boss reckons these first weeks of their careers at the club provide a crucial education. Van Bronckhorst said: "We had seven new players coming, when you're at Rangers you need adaptation because all the things you will see in the first weeks and months, it's massive. We are trying to make sure they are welcomed by all of us.
"They have to go out and enjoy themselves and make sure they play to their strengths. It's always good for me to see Malik is settling really well.
"Tom as well, Rabbi had a good performance today and Ben (Davies) played minutes. The more games we play, the more minutes the new players play, the more settled they become and the more settled we get as a squad."
Van Bronckhorst was particularly thrilled with "epic talent" Tillman, who looked sharp again after his Champions League qualifying heroics in midweek. He grabbed the opener with another back post header to set Rangers on their way.
Van Bronckhorst said: "What we wanted was him to bed in quickly, we watched him in the games he played last season with Germany under-21s and the American team, the minutes he played for Bayern's first and second team. You could see his quality and the understanding he has with players around him, it is at a high level. You can see his performances since he came in, against Livingston and all the games after that.
"He's becoming a very important player for us and today he scored a great goal. His overall play you can see he is a very epic talent."
“What we have to do a lot better than last year is not let teams stay in the game, especially at home but also away. When you have the chance to turn two goals into three you have to take it. That’s why I’m really pleased with the desire today.
Saints boss Callum Davidson reckons there were positives for his side to take from the afternoon, despite the scoreline. He said: “For 75-80 minutes today I was quite happy.
“In the first half I was pleased with our effort and shape, and how we went about our business. We conceded a sloppy goal but Rangers hadn’t opened us up too much.
“You’ve got to take your chances when you come here and we didn’t do that with Theo’s opportunity. I thought we performed well in the second half but we then conceded a poor second goal too. Those goals allowed it to be comfortable for Rangers.
