When Daniel went into the lion’s den, what happened?

That biblical tale might be a bit abstract and highbrow to compare with a mere match of football, but Paul Le Guen’s under-fire troops went into the Picchi tonight under no illusions they were the underdogs, and produced as professional and polished a display away from home in Europe as any bear has witnessed for years.

Puzzlement raged as to what formation Le Guen would choose; and when news filtered through that the maligned Nacho Novo would start it spelled rank pessimism on the part of loyal bears, convinced he was finished and past it.

Further to this was the disappointing revelation that Prso was being benched, and that once again Letizi would take his place between the sticks, and you had distinct room for worry and predictions of humbling defeats.

Then we looked at Livorno’s lineup and one realised just how strong this side were; Kuffour, Amelia, Vidigal and of course Lucarelli. Certainly not quite up there with the Milans of this world, but clearly not to be taken for fools.

Enter Rangers – a coach under pressure, players dogged by poor performances and fans divided down the middle.

The script was written for utter despondency to permeate Govan as an effect of yet another performance bereft of quality or fight.

Cue the best show of the season along with our performance against Hearts.

From the off, Rangers had invention, guile, heart, fluidity, hunger, and staggeringly confidence too. Letizi had a shaky first 5 minutes and still doesn’t look like an able keeper for us overall, but the fact he was rarely tested showed just how in control of this entire game the bears were.

We played for the first time this season with a 4-3-3 which reverted to 4-5-1 on the defence, and it worked beautifully. There was a coherency and drive about the shape of the side, and Novo belied his pitiful form to produce a truly heartening display – he ran the right flank and instilled himself as a team player for the first time in maybe a year. His support, along with Buffel’s, for the lone striker Boyd worked wonderfully, and the fact both Novo and Boyd scored was testament to effective link up play and a forward line in tune with each other.

The midfield was also extremely able, with Hemdani mopping up all the attacks Livorno could throw at us, before spraying pinpoint passes out of defence. His partner Ferguson was also heavily involved, and his leadership kept the ship afloat.

Lastly was our superb defence – solid all night and never looked down the barrel of catastrophe, the back 4 repelled everything, and only the cheating of Lucarelli plus Letizi’s inability to hold onto a Kuffour shot led to their brace.

It was a marvellous performance to behold, and Le Guen showed real signs of finally getting the best out of his players.
The ultimate test is whether he can continue what he’s started but in the bread and butter of the SPL.

Well done Paul, you’ve bought yourself some time. Don’t ruin what you’ve started.