ALL eyes inside Ibrox were trained on Ianis Hagi on Wednesday night as the young Romanian playmaker made his first start for the club he had joined on loan less than a week earlier in the Ladbrokes Premiership match against Hibernian.

The sense of anticipation inside the packed stadium was tangible. Would Hagi be able to provide the ingenuity up front that Rangers had been missing in their defeat to Hearts and draw with Aberdeen? Could he cope with the pressure of a must-win fixture? Was he as good as his legendary father Gheorghe?

The 21-year-old didn’t disappoint onlookers. He pounced on a Connor Goldson flick-on in the visitors’ box with just six minutes of regulation time remaining and scored from a tight angle to ensure Steven Gerrard’s side recorded a narrow and vital 2-1 victory.

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He left it late to justify his selection. But Ronald de Boer, the former Dutch internationalist who was his old club’s guest of honour for the evening on a rare return to Govan, was always confident the new boy would come good.

Hagi spent a stint at Ajax - where De Boer started out along with his twin brother Frank as a kid, won the Champions League and is now involved once again as a youth coach – when he was a teenager.

His time in Amsterdam was brief and he eventually moved on and joined Viitoral Constanta in his homeland. During that short spell, though, his talent and promise were obvious to everyone he came into contact with.

In fact, De Boer is certain he would have flourished at the four-time European champions if he had remained in Holland. “As you saw on Wednesday night, Ianis definitely has the ability and quality to play for Ajax,” he said.

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Gerrard has bemoaned the lack of “spark” in Rangers’ play up front since play restarted after the winter shutdown last month. De Boer anticipates that Hagi will be able to provide a cutting edge in the final third in the weeks ahead. He certainly feels the role the Genk attacking midfielder was handed in midweek is perfectly suited to him and will enable him to make the maximum impact in games.

“I sensed that recent results had affected the self-confidence of the Rangers side on Wednesday night,” he said. “I noticed they were impatient against a Hibs team that was defending well and was compact when they fell behind.

“They were trying to force things, very possibly because of the loss to Hearts and draw with Aberdeen. They played a lot of long balls which were not necessary. Let the ball do the work. The pitch wasn’t that great. But I thought they could have shown more patience.

“Hagi will be an unbelievable asset for Rangers. From what I saw on Wednesday night, they were lacking a bit of creativity going forward. I think Hagi has great creativity and will be able to provide that for them. He is very two-footed.

“Hagi played on the right side, in what I call the Messi role, on Wednesday night. He cuts inside and plays more like a No.10. He did it very well, especially considering it was his first start. His finish for the goal was amazing. It wasn’t an easy chance and he was under pressure to score, but he took it well.”

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De Boer, despite never coming up against him in a competitive match for either club or country during his playing days, is friendly with Gheorghe Hagi. He appreciates how difficult it will be for his son, who has made 10 appearances for his country despite his tender age, to follow in such famous footsteps. He believes the move to Glasgow will be beneficial for him as well as Rangers.

“I was just an admirer of Gheorghe from afar when he was a player,” he said. “But I know him well. I have played in a testimonial game with him. It’s good that Ianis is away from Romania. In Romania Gheorghe Hagi really is a god.

“But in Belgium and in Scotland there is less pressure on him. Sure, the fans maybe remember his father a little bit. But the supporters won’t be seeking a resemblance to his father in quite the same way as they do in Romania.”

De Boer, however, has warned the youngster he will still have to cope with having considerable demands on his shoulders as Rangers attempt to catch Celtic in the Premiership and prevent their city rivals from winning a record-equalling ninth consecutive title this season.

The 67-times capped 49-year-old represented the Netherlands in two World Cup finals. He also played for Barcelona as well as Ajax and Rangers. He lifted silverware at all of them. But he recalls the expectations on him at Ibrox being just as great as at any other stage in his career.

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“Ianis has done well in one game,” he said. “Now everybody is expecting something. In the next game they will demand the same level of performance from him. The pressure is on now.

“In many respects, Rangers is like Ajax and Barcelona – they are expected to play well and win against every team they play against. But from what I have seen of Ianis he has the tools he needs.”

De Boer is hopeful the players who work under him at Ajax, who stunned world football last season by knocking out Real Madrid and Juventus en route to the Champions League semi-finals, have the skillset required to make it at the current Eredivisie leaders.

“We have an exceptional group coming through,” he said. “They are incredibly good. I just had a meeting with some of the under-19 players who are stepping up into the first team squad and some of the under-17 players who are going to go into the second team squad. It is great for them. We will see how they progress. Talent is one thing. You have to have more than that to get into the starting XI and excel.”

Ianis Hagi has managed to do that at Rangers despite only being at Ibrox for a matter of days - and Ronald de Boer has no doubts he can remain there and continue to shine.