JAMES TAVERNIER was always confident the fitness of his Rangers squad would shine through after their extra-time victory over Hearts at Hampden.
Tavernier lifted the Scottish Cup to ensure Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side ended a mixed campaign on a high note and with some silverware in the trophy cabinet.
Rangers had to dig deep once again after being taken the distance by the Jambos at the end of a goalless 90 minutes as a handful of chances were missed.
But the character and conditioning of the squad came to the fore as goals from Ryan Jack and Scott Wright won it during the extra half an hour.
It was a remarkable effort from Rangers on the back of their shoot-out defeat in the Europa League final and captain Tavernier was proud of their endeavours at the National Stadium.
Tavernier said: "You know, it's been a disappointing week because we really wanted to push over the line in the Europa.
"But to finish this off and finish the season with a trophy is the main thing.
"We knew if we took them to extra-time we were fitter than them. We kept going, kept pushing and we [did it].
"It was an unbelievable strike from Jacko. I said to him at breakfast before the game, 'You'll have a part to play today'.
"Then it was Scotty with a great strike. It's unbelievable."
