THE celebrations said it all. Rangers have won by bigger margins and in more emphatic style this season, but no victory matches the one they achieved at Hampden.

This was a moment to savour for Mark Warburton and his players, a day when they silenced their critics and proved their doubters wrong. The reward is a place in the Scottish Cup final.

For the fans who have lived through so many lows over the last few years, this was the ultimate high on The Journey. There have certainly been few that have come close.

Rangers have clinched their top flight return, they have ended a cup hoodoo and they have now beaten Celtic; each one a step in the right direction, another marker post passed on the road to recovery.

Warburton’s side were written off by those in the game and out of it but they delivered when it mattered as they stood up to be counted in the Old Firm cauldron.

Come the final act of a remarkable cup tie, it was the Rangers end who were on their feet, who were making their voices heard and who were dreaming of Hampden glory.

It may have taken until the last penalty kick of an enthralling, end-to-end game, but there was little doubt that Rangers were deserved winners at the National Stadium.

A month that has already delivered the Championship title and Petrofac Training Cup has now brought a place in the showpiece finale to the domestic campaign. A good season is 90 minutes away from becoming a great one.

Few outside the walls of Murray Park may have known that Rangers were capable of the performance they put in, few outside Ibrox and the Light Blue legions backed the Gers to set up a meeting with Hibernian.

It is they who had reason to celebrate last night, though, and who have reasons to be cheerful not just for what is left of this season but for the new campaign as well.

Warburton had urged supporters to be realistic in the build-up to the Celtic clash as expectations and confidence levels had risen. He knew there was a gap, but it was one that could be bridged during any cup tie.

Victory at Hampden has not changed the job in hand for Warburton this summer, it shouldn’t strike names from his shopping list or alter his thinking of what needs to be done ahead of Rangers’ return to the Premiership.

To a man, the Light Blues were hugely impressive and their fine individual efforts combined to produce a team performance of desire and energy, of skill and speed. If they had won inside 90 or 120 minutes, there could have been few complaints from Ronny Deila’s side.

It was in many ways a day of vindication for Warburton. His players proved they could handle the heat, they showed that they can raise their game and they proved that their manager’s attacking intentions don’t need to be stifled on the biggest stage.

The Gers, denied the services of four key forward options, stuck to the Warburton blueprint. It may still need to be tweaked at times but even if the shoot-out had gone against his side, the Ibrox boss would still have taken enough positives from the tie to know Rangers are heading in the right direction.

Rangers have shown they can compete on one-off occasions, but they will need to add to their ranks to ensure they can do it over an entire Premiership campaign.

Celtic are still the benchmark and the level the Gers need to aspire to, but Warburton will surely know that their Glasgow rivals are not that far out of reach. Four years after their last top flight tussle, Celtic are nowhere near as far ahead of Rangers as they should be.

It is that fact, and the manner of their showing on Sunday, that will give Warburton renewed enthusiasm for next season. He has stated that Rangers must be ‘highly competitive’ on their top flight return but supporters will now, rightly, set their sights on a title challenge at the first attempt.

Before that, they must deliver the Scottish Cup. After a season of so many highs, Warburton will be determined to ensure it does not finish with a crushing low.

Warburton and his players should relish their success to date this season because there is no guarantee that it will continue next month, never mind next term.

Rangers have proven that they are not far away from where they need to be, though. And that should please Warburton almost as much as his first Old Firm triumph.