Nigeria and Rangers defender, Leon Aderemi Balogun, was full of praise for teammate and Belgian International, Nicolas Raskin, following his side’s 4-0 victory over Aberdeen, Soccernet.ng reports.
The veteran centre-back played 80 minutes at Ibrox yesterday evening. Although he came close to finding the back of the net himself, it was goals from Jefte, Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny that sealed all three points for Barry Ferguson’s side.
Balogun rolled back the years with his performance yesterday. His contract at Ibrox runs out next month and talks over a new deal is yet to surface.
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After the game, Balogun was delighted his side returned to winning ways at home following a spell of poor results at Ibrox.
“It has been seven games without a win at Ibrox, and it was good to get that monkey off our backs, but there was still more in the tank and that is what the gaffer told us at half-time. He wanted us to empty the tank and make sure we gave that 10/15 per cent more going forward.
“We turned up the dial in the second half and you could see what we are capable of. It is a shame that throughout the season we had to address this over and over again but on the positive I think it is a great result today,” the 36-year-old told Rangers TV.
“It is always great to keep a clean sheet, that also has been quite a while so I will take the positives out of that. We all know about the negative part. We are not blind to it, we are not going to ignore it, but we have to look forward.
“Wednesday is the last game at Ibrox of the season, so we have to make sure that this is a nice finish for the supporters who have been amazing all season.
“It has been tough for them, especially and then we need to go away to Hibs and replicate it too,” the former Brighton and Hove Albion man added.
Belgian midfielder, Nicolas Raskin was in terrific form against Aberdeen yesterday, producing two assists from the middle of the park, and Balogun was pleased with the display of the 24-year-old.
“It was great from Nico, he has had really great development across this season. I remember last year around this time of the year we talked quite a bit, and he had just come off of an injury and tried to find his rhythm again.
“Kudos to him, the way he has brushed himself off and got himself up again. He also had to go through a tough spell of being chucked in and having to play game after game after game.
“He really put in the work, he put in some great performances for us, not just today, in Europe as well, so I’m really delighted for him,” the Germany-born Nigerian defender concluded.
Rangers’ win does not have any impact on their league standings as they’re in pole position for UEFA Champions League qualification.