MICHAEL O’Halloran, the Rangers winger, has admitted the Ibrox club have to follow up their win over Aberdeen with another victory against Hearts this weekend and start displaying far greater consistency.

O’Halloran and his team mates deservedly defeated Derek McInnes’s side 2-1 at Ibrox on Saturday to reclaim second spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership table just three days after surrendering it with a 2-0 loss at Tynecastle.

However, the 25-year-old is keen for Rangers to build on that now and strengthen their bid to finish second in the top flight and secure a Europa League place by going on an extended winning run – starting against their capital rivals.

Asked about whether the Championship winners can put some distance between themselves and Aberdeen and Hearts, he said: “I think it is going to be tough. But we have been talking about that. It is about finding consistency with us.

“We are good one week and then we pull off it a bit. We are going to discuss that this week – how we can become more consistent and push on. Hopefully, we can take confidence from the Aberdeen performance. It is another big week, another chance to play Hearts again next week. That is what you want, the big games coming thick and fast.”

Mark Warburton has only lost one competitive match at Ibrox – the League Cup game against St. Johnstone last season – since taking over as Rangers manager last year.

O’Halloran, who was signed for £500,000 back in January, believes the Rangers supporters make them very difficult to beat at their own stadium and will boost their chances of success against Hearts.

“We have a good record at home,” he said. “It is over a year now since we have been beat. It just shows what we can do when the fans get behind us. The atmosphere and the noise are like a 12th man. A lot of people say that, but they are. They push you that extra five or 10 yards. They were magnificent on Saturday. I can’t thank them enough.”

The former Scotland Under-21 internationalist felt the gutsy Rangers performance against Aberdeen answered a lot of their critics and proved they have the desire and ability to finish second in the Premiership this season and get back in Europe.

He said: “It is such a contrast of feelings from the Hearts in the dressing room afterwards. The boys were delighted. We spoke about it the last match, we analysed it. We weren’t very happy with the performance. Obviously, the main thing is the result and we got that.

“We had a wee bit more grit and determination. We knew we underperformed in midweek. It was all about coming out in front of the fans and making it right today. I think you saw that, from start to finish, we were determined. The performance came and we got two good goals.

“We know Aberdeen are a really good footballing team. They have been up there the last few years. We know they have got a bit of bite and determination. We know that. We spoke about it. We knew we would have to match them physically and win the battle and then the football would take care of itself. Luckily enough, it did.

“We are a pretty blunt group to be honest. We analyse all the games and we talk. We knew it wasn’t good enough. There are a few older experienced boys in there who said it bluntly – it isn’t good enough for a club like this. We let the club down and we let the fans who travelled through to Tynecastle down. I am delighted to send them home happy.

“There was a lot of determination. I think we showed that we cared. We wanted to keep a clean sheet. We were a wee bit disappointed at the free-kick that led to it. The lads were saying it wasn’t a foul. You could see we were pushing right to the end.”

O’Halloran, who has struggled to hold down a regular first team place since joining Rangers, paid special tribute to Kenny Miller, who scored the first goal against Aberdeen in the second-half .

“He has been brilliant since I came in,” he said. “Every day, I have never seen anybody work as hard as Kenny. It just shows that he isn’t still playing at this age for nothing. He puts in the mileage. You will see out there that he runs as far and as fast as anybody.

“I am delighted for him that he popped up with such an important goal. It gave us that wee bit of relax and we pushed on for the second one.”

O’Halloran added “It has been frustrating personally not playing. Obviously it took a while for me to get in the team. I have played five games now so I am getting more in there now and I am getting up to speed. The aim now is to continue to continue to progress.

“There is competition, but that is what you expect at such a big club. You have got to be in working hard every day in training. Everybody wants to play and there is a big squad as well. That is what it is all about. You want that. It is healthy isn’t it? I am sure the manager likes that he has so many available options.”