Rangers finally snapped into top gear after a season peppered with inconsistent performances as they trounced Motherwell 6-1 at Fir Park on Sunday.

Steven Gerrard was unsurprisingly delighted to finally see a 90-minute display, characterised by ruthlessness in front of goal and full of lingering attacking threat where James Tavernier excelled and Fashion Sakala announced himself with a hat-trick.

Here, we assess what he said to the media and what it means for the season ahead.

On a perfromance ‘in the post’

"It was really emphatic, I thought we played with real quality. Obviously, we had another setback early on, but I thought we dealt with it and managed it really well and showed great character to get ourselves back in a good place before half-time. I think we just went on. That’s been coming, it’s almost been in the post. We’ve been waiting for that performance for some time. It was back to our identity and how we want it to look, that’s for sure."

READ MORE: Rangers finally match determination with quality, now is the time to capitalise - Garry Carmody

Gerrard walked up the marble staircase with a clear idea of how he wanted Rangers to be with and without the ball and wasn’t slow in implementing his style. Since then, it’s been a case of finesse and refinement of his core philosophy. While it’s not always been totally successful, you could see the development in the team and the work on the training ground when his charges stepped onto a field.

This season, the aggression with and without the ball that has marked the Gerrard era has only been intermittent, and while it’s clearly a relief to the manager it has returned for an entire game, it appears he was convinced this was only a matter of time given some of the signs from previous matches.

On trust in the players

"You have to have belief and trust in your players. You want to be honest with them and at times we haven’t been ourselves, there’s always been an ingredient missing but today it’s all about the players. They have gone out and performed ever so well. There’s a saying in life, ‘inch perfect’. I thought we were an inch away from perfect today. All around we were superb."

The Rangers manager is never one to get too carried away so "an inch away from perfect” amounts to lavish praise. It’s clear he was a contented man on the final whistle.

And that’s despite a slow start where defensive miscommunication between James Tavernier and Connor Goldson led to a needless corner being given away. The Steelmen took full advantage as Sondre Solholm Johansen’s header was brilliantly saved before Bevis Mugabi turned in the rebound from an angle that looked impossible.

It was another early goal lost, a continuing feature of this season that has vexed the boss for some time.

"I think it’s happened on too many occasions now where we have given ourselves a bigger challenge or given the opposition a head start and that complicates things but sometimes you chase that in a different way and you start trying things that are not really you, with people going out of their character, but what we did today was stay calm and stuck to the game plan. The players have gone and carried it out ever so well."

It would be churlish to focus on Rangers defending amidst such a strong victory but the nature of the goal will be something that is sure to be discussed on the training ground this week. These are the standards set at Gerrard's Rangers.

On Fashion Sakala’s stunning impact

"He deserves it, he’s worked hard, he’s come on and made a difference in his cameos. He’s just showed in the last week to ten days he’s more settled, he’s ready and his teammates are starting to trust him. It takes time. He’s got to get used to his teammates and they have to get used to him. He has to get used to the way we play and both sides of the game. He’s got to earn that trust on the training pitch.

"It just felt different in the last ten days. He showed that with his cameo against Aberdeen when he’s come on and helped us get back in the game but today he was unplayable. He’s got that unpredictability about him and that sheer burning pace so he’s going to cause teams and individuals major problems."

It was a game when Fashion Sakala showed exactly why the club was so keen to secure his signature in the summer. He’s had fleeting cameos so far but hasn’t truly been able to establish himself in the side until this match.

Crucially, it appears he’s now winning the trust of his teammates, an important part of bedding into a club and something Gerrard commented on during Borna Barisic’s phoenix-like rise from flop signing to an integral part of the team.

READ MORE: Fashion Sakala’s Rangers rise heralds recovery as Steven Gerrard’s side get their identity back

On his captain stepping up to the plate

"Pure character (from Tavernier) as well. He obviously realises what happened in midweek but James is the type that will want to fire back. I thought his all-around performance was top today, probably his strongest of the season. We know he has the quality. He played like a captain today and he would have been forgiven for being a little bit less focused today on his 30th birthday but I thought he set the standard and showed what a good captain he is."

Some have been questioning Tavernier’s role in the team given the quality of player waiting in the wings behind him in Nathan Patterson but the Englishman is never one to hide after a mistake.

He was outmuscled for Aberdeen’s second goal in midweek, something he held his hands up over in his post-match interview but that wasn’t something the 30-year-old was going to allow to stymie his game on Sunday.

A creative fulcrum for the team, he menaced the Steelmen throughout but his crucial intervention was in scoring a scintillating equaliser with a deft volley from 20 yards. He also created Sakala’s first with a delicious cross – proving once again, his immense value to the club.