THE blow was a tough one for Steven Gerrard and his players to stomach. Connor Goldson felt it that little bit more, though.

The hurt after losing to Celtic at Ibrox was palpable amongst the Light Blues squad and it took Goldson time to recover on a personal basis. In the inevitable post Old Firm analysis, it was him that came in for most of the friendly fire from supporters.

It was never going to break Goldson, though. His strength of character has shone through and Rangers have recovered in the right manner as well.

Five wins have been earned from the last five games and Gerrard’s side face Young Boys this evening in fine form and high spirits.

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Goldson said: “We’re doing well at the moment I think with five on the bounce so hopefully we can keep improving. The recent results say a lot about the character of the team. After the Celtic game we looked at this group of fixtures before the next international break and knew we had to pick up maximum points.

“I feel like we get better and better over the month. Obviously on the back of an Old Firm defeat, your next few fixtures are tough.

“Mentally you know you need to win games. You know there’s a lot of expectation and demands.

“But we’ve coped with it well and got good results. We just need to keep moving forward and keep winning football games.”

Much of the focus was fixed on Goldson after the derby defeat but his mistake - as he misplaced a pass that allowed Celtic to break and Odsonne Edouard to net the first goal in a 2-0 win - was one of many that Rangers uncharacteristically made on the day.

It is the only blemish on their record so far this term as challenges at home and abroad have been taken care of in recent weeks.

The international break allowed Gerrard and his players a chance to regroup and recover and Goldson made the most of the opportunity.

He said: “For a few days after I was around my family. I knew I made a mistake and it’s not what you want to do in a big game.

“I held my hand up to the team at the time. As a footballer I don’t think you are ever going to be perfect. You move on, you try and get to the next game and do as well as you can. I just try and be like that all the time.

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“I try and move on as quickly as I can because at this football club there is always another game soon which you need to prepare for and get your head right for.

“It hurt. It hurt me as an individual and us as a team. But we had to move on from it quickly and go into this group of games trying to take maximum points.”

The 5-0 thrashing of Aberdeen at the weekend means Rangers only now have one more match - at home to Hamilton this Sunday - to negotiate in their aim to put together the required run of domestic wins.

It is the Europa League that is the focus for the Light Blues this evening, though, as Gerrard’s side take on Swiss champions Young Boys in their second Group G clash.

The win over Feyenoord on matchday one gave the Gers the perfect start to their section and another victory in the Stade de Suisse would be a major step towards a place in the knock-out rounds.

That ambition evaded Gerrard and his players last term as they failed to qualify from a section that included Villarreal, Spartak Moscow and Rapid Vienna.

Goldson has been an ever-present during the 23 European ties Rangers have played under Gerrard’s guidance and is confident the Ibrox side can rise to the occasion once again.

He said: “It is going to be difficult but we believe wherever we go. Last year we put in good performances away from home.

“We didn’t get the win but we came close and put in some good performances. This is a new group and a new campaign and after starting with three points we feel we can get another three more.

“It would be a massive statement of intent if we could win in Bern. Last year Europe was new to us but we still equipped ourselves well.

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“It was always going to be hard to get out of that group but we almost managed it. This year we have another tough group but we do feel we can get out of it.

“I knew I was the only player from this year but I didn’t realise I was the only one from the past two seasons [to play every game]. It’s nice as I came to this football club to try and play as much football as I could. Thankfully so far that’s gone to plan. I just want to keep helping the team to hopefully get as many clean sheets as possible – whether that’s in Europe or the league.”

It was an emotional night at Ibrox last time out as Rangers paid tribute to former captain Fernando Ricksen and marked the occasion in a fitting manner with an inspired performance and terrific result.

There will be a far different feel to this game, though. Rangers have refused to take an official allocation for the trip to Switzerland after being sanctioned by UEFA for the behaviour of their fans in the qualifiers.

Goldson said: “It will make a difference as we’re used to having our fans with us everywhere we go.

“There’s always a big number of them. It’s sad for those fans who travel everywhere with us that they are having to miss the game.

“As you know, when you go away from home, as much noise as our fans make, when you go to big arenas, they are the minority. We just have to deal with big attendances and bring back a goodie result for our fans to cheer.”