Mikey Moore has already had one big moment in a Rangers jersey this season.
With his side 2-1 ahead at Celtic Park, the Tottenham Hotspur loanee fizzed his shot into the bottom corner beyond Kasper Schmeichel to seal a two-goal victory and send the away fans delirious.
It sparked what the youngster described as a ‘head loss’ during his celebrations as he lapped up the adoration of his supporters.
As the season enters its home stretch and the prize of the league title comes into focus, though, Moore knows he will have to firmly have his head screwed on if Rangers are to hit the Premiership summit come May.
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It is striking the self-awareness that the attacker possesses at just 18-years-old, perhaps a product of his upbringing in an elite Premier League academy or indeed just a testament to his own character.
Moore is happy to shoulder the pressure of being a match-winner for his side, but equally admits that in recent weeks he has had to do some soul-searching, as his performances haven’t matched his own lofty ambitions.
“Yeah, there's going to be a lot of games where we're going to need someone to come up with a bit of magic,” Moore acknowledged.
“For me, with my end product…I need to reflect on it truthfully, and it's not been at its best so far, but I know that I've got big moments in me, so now the big games are coming up, I think I can really push on and start showing that with my numbers.”
Reflecting on why his own form may have dipped in recent games following a particularly fruitful spell, he was forthright, admitting: “It's hard to put something on it, I think I just need to push myself.
Mikey Moore celebrates at Parkhead (Image: Shutterstock)
“My mentality needs to be that I'm going to go into every game and try and play as well as possible. So for me, the last two weeks I don't think I've been bad but I think I've been better than what I've been.”
Such has been the dearth of genuine creative ability in this Rangers team this season that Moore has played 30 games in his first six months and has rarely found his starting spot under threat.
He has, by and large, deserved to be one of the first names on the team sheet. However, he himself admits that new additions, primarily Andreas Skov Olsen, will only benefit the team, even if he is in direct competition for one of the forward positions at Ibrox.
“Yeah, to be honest I think we needed that as a team,” Moore continued. “It's hard, you don't want to get too comfortable so for me personally I think I need to reflect on myself over the past two or three weeks and know that I've got higher standards than probably what I've hit.
“We've been doing really well, but personally, now I need to push on, and now I've got to fight for my place in the team and become that person who you know is going to be playing week after week.
“New signings coming in, we're all fighting for our spot in the team now, which is what you need at a big club, so for me personally and as a team we need to push on.”
Despite his tender years, Moore understands what success on the big stage looks like.
Look around the pitch after Tottenham’s Europa League final victory last year, and you will see him in the mix, not just as a by-stander squad player, but as someone who played their part on route to the final - featuring five times and scoring once.
European success for Rangers was out of sight before Christmas after a dreadful start to the campaign, but domestically, the league title is very much in the crosshairs.
Moore admits that he is aiming to carry that winning feeling on from last season, in the hope of restoring glory to the streets of Govan.
"I want to play for a team that's trying to win things,” Moore said. “I hated going to Porto on Thursday and losing. We want to go and win. Last year, I had a taste of it, so I want to carry that on and be a person who's got that winning mentality.
“For me, I need to drive on, and as a team we need to drive each other.
“We've got to take one game at a time. It's easy to say that. I think everyone says that when they come into an interview. But you need to go into every game thinking it's as big as the next one.”
That next game comes in the form of Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday.
Danny Rohl's side will be buoyed by the fact that one-time rumoured transfer target Kieron Bowie has jetted off to pastures new in Italy since the teams last met.
Rangers have beaten Hibs three times already this season, twice in the league and once in the League Cup, by an aggregate of 4-0.
Mikey Moore is a key figure for Danny Rohl (Image: Jane Barlow)
For Moore, though, he’s taking nothing for granted and is ready to step up with the decisive moment when calm heads are required.
"Yeah, it's a really tough game to play and it's never easy going to that place,” he added.
“I think we saw that last time we went there so we're going to have to grind out a result and we might need someone to come up with a big moment. So I'm hoping that hopefully that could be me but we'll see what happens.”
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