What Rangers must do 'if Hearts play dirty' as Ibrox star seeks to influence title bid amid game time struggle

The Ivorian midfielder has found game time difficult to come by in recent weeks with Rohl electing to put his faith in Nicolas Raskin and Tochi Chukwuani. Regardless of whether he earns a place in the starting XI or not, Diomande is prepared to do his talking on the pitch and play his part in Rangers’ scrap for silverware.

The Ibrox club have had plenty of time to stew over last weekend’s defeat at home to Motherwell. Diomande was introduced as part of a triple half-time substitution against the Steelmen as head coach Rohl sought to fix some glaring first-half deficiencies.

“Character and mentality will be very important in the last four games,” the 24-year-old stated. “We might not just win games by doing what the coach taught us or the tactical things we work on before. It will depend on ourselves. If Hearts or the other teams are going to play dirty, we need to stand up.

“Maybe we don’t have to think about the tactical play and just fight. If that’s what we need to win the game, we have to do it. It’s about character and standing up for ourselves. It won’t come easy. Fighting for it will be the most important thing. We need to put on a massive performance and work hard.

“We know it wasn’t the best game against Motherwell. We wanted to get a result, but we know we’re still in it and can’t give up now. We have four more games to play that we’re looking to win. We’re really motivated to do so. Every minute will be very important now.”

Four victories to end the campaign would give Rangers a chance of clinching the title, but Diomande knows the clash with Hearts falls into the ‘must-win’ category to preserve their faltering hopes. “Yeah, I think so because if we lose that game, we’re going to be seven points behind so it will be difficult to win and we’re playing Celtic next,” he admitted. “We need to win on Monday. I won’t say it’s a decider just yet but we’ll certainly be in a better position if we win the game.”

Rangers title triumph would be a ‘joy’ for Diomande

Rangers were written off as title contenders after Russell Martin’s ill-fated reign, but his successor has admirably hauled the club back into trophy contention - which made last Sunday’s setback even harder to stomach. However, Diomande maintains belief that they could get back into the mix.

“I’d say the main thing that gives me belief we can win the title is because of how badly we started the season yet we’ve got ourselves into this position,” Diomande said. “If we win this league, we’ll know that it didn’t come easy. For me, it will be a joy knowing that we’ve worked this hard to win it.

“I believed we could do it when the manager came because he was very clear in what he wanted. We took things slowly and we had a good run with him, winning many games. Because of the detailed work we’ve done and also the team around him - it’s helped him get his ideas across. We know what it takes to win big games. From the first game (under Rohl) I felt we could get here. We’re not done yet but we’re going to do everything to finish well.”

*The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly