AS the flak flew outside, Cyriel Dessers made the mistake of letting the groans in Govan get inside his head.
But having slotted the crucial brace that opened the door to the Scottish Cup Final, the Rangers hitman insists he's learned the importance of shutting out the negativity and noise that could threaten the Light Blues' fragile resurgence.
Damaging slip-ups against Ross County and Dundee have left Gers' title dreams hanging by a thread.
But they'll have at least one more shot at silverware after Dessers' double sank Hearts to tee up a final shootout with Celtic on May 25.
It's a result that's provided a much-needed shot of selfbelief into the Ibrox squad just as the Premiership finishing line begins to creep over the horizon.
It's the kind of position Gers faced before this season.
Distracted Dessers took the brunt of it as the misfiring frontman was largely held responsible for a shocking start that saw Michael Beale's team fall seven points adrift of Celtic just seven games in.
The jeers that followed him round Ibrox were hard to shake but they finally relented as new boss Clement led this side on a remarkable recovery.
But they returned this week after Rangers allowed all their hard work to go to waste in Dingwall and at Dens. However, this time Dessers realised the importance of keeping his eyes open and ears shut.
He said: "At the start it got to me.
That's something I learned from as well. Now I have everything in line, in my head as well.
"When there's noise now I can shut it out and that's what we all need to do over the next few weeks.
This story is from the April 22, 2024 edition of Daily Record.
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This story is from the April 22, 2024 edition of Daily Record.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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