IANIS HAGI gets Rangers supporters off their seats and has twice raised the roof at Ibrox. One of his greatest qualities, though, is keeping his feet on the ground.
When the Romanian marked his first start for Steven Gerrard’s side with a late winner against Hibernian, he quickly put it behind him and got back down to business.
That will be the case once again at McDiarmid Park on Sunday. His Europa League heroics will still be fresh in the memory but Hagi’s focus will be on what is to come rather than what has gone before.
As punters and pundits have lavished praise on Hagi, the 21-year-old has shown that he is able to take the hype and hyperbole in his stride.
It is only natural that some will get carried away after his stunning performance against Braga and the two goals that turned the last 32 tie on its head and in Rangers’ favour.
But midfielder Scott Arfield knows Hagi won’t allow the fanfare and adulation to get to him, even after a special night that saw his father Gheorghe watch on at Ibrox.
“Quality,” Arfield said of the way Hagi grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and inspired Rangers to victory. “That’s his mentality.
“You don’t want to touch on his dad, but he has obviously had a big influence on him.
“After he scored the goal against Hibs, the next morning, when you probably see players elated, he was as calm as anybody. And it was a big moment against Hibs.
“He scored in the last five minutes or so. But he was straight into business again.
“Went to Hamilton, should have scored and could have got a couple of assists if the boys had put the ball in the net.
“His mentality of having big moments and coming straight back down is second to none.
“I’m sure he is straight on to business and ready for St Johnstone.
“He’s at a big club over in Belgium so he knows the demands but I think the demands are bigger here. And he wants to get better and be that player that has special moments like [Thursday] night and against Hibs.
“If you are looking at what he’s produced so far then you can see a lot of special moments coming from him.”
The victory over Braga will live long in the memory for those that played in it and those that watched it.
Rangers were staring at defeat - and probably an exit from the competition - before Hagi struck, Joe Aribo produced a sublime solo effort and Hagi's deflected free-kick won it with just minutes to go.
He has given Gerrard's sidea new dimension in the final third and Arfield is relishing seeing the on-loan Genk star in action.
He said: “It was quality wasn’t it? You touched on Hagi. To come to a club like this and have those special moments is brilliant for him.
“But the bigger picture is that it is only half-time. We can talk about how good a night it was, but if we don’t turn up next week it will quickly get forgotten about.
“I always go back to Russell Latapy. Always.
“He was about 20 years older than Hagi when I played with him. And he smoked 40 fags more than Hagi.
“Not much pace, like Hagi. Not electric in terms of pace, but he drops the shoulder and makes things happen. Those are the players I love.”
It is only after the second leg in Portugal next Wednesday that Rangers will know how important their superb comeback at Ibrox actually was.
The Premiership clash with St Johnstone tomorrow is now the priority for Gerrard’s side but the occasions and the challenges could not be more contrasting just a couple of days apart.
Arfield said: "They are completely different games. These teams come and try and win as Gaz (Gary McAllister) touched on before. Braga, at times, we were going after them and they were playing through us.
"They are a top, top team in terms of technicians. In Europe you get these individual players that can create something but as a collective everyone knew what they were doing.
"The 3-5-2 worked, the wing backs were on each other, the No. 10 coming in, the No. 9 in dropping in to receive the ball. Collectively they were quality.
"Last 25 minutes we had the intensity to break that down in the end. The bigger picture is the demand at St Johnstone is just as big as [Thursday] night. The challenge is different but the demand is the same – to win the game."
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