Thelo Aasgaard wants to use the blow of not making the recent Norway international squad to his advantage, after playing a vital role in Rangers' 4-2 win over Dundee United.
The 23-year-old has endured an up-and-down campaign since moving to the club from Luton last summer. That culminated in the attacking midfielder not receiving a call-up during the most recent international break, after limited gametime at Ibrox.
Aasgaard kept his place in Rohl's team and remained at the club's training base in Milngavie throughout the fortnight, rather than joining his Norway teammates. And, on a day when Rangers went top of the league for the first time in this title race, and indeed for the first time since early 2024, the No. 11 was pleased to see his efforts rewarded.
"Yeah, I think just like this match, [the last few months] have been up and down. [I was] really disappointed to be left out of the Norway squad, obviously that was a blow, but I feel like I've reacted well, coming back into the team for Aberdeen and today. So yeah, I'll be honest, that was a blow, but I'm really strong mentally.
"Yeah, [today was] a bit of a rollercoaster. Really happy to score four goals, obviously, but we know we can do better. We shouldn't be conceding two goals, but yeah, overall happy, and the only thing that matters at this stage is the win."
After a swivel and shot fell into the path of Ryan Naderi to break the deadlock at Ibrox, Aasgaard missed a gilt-edged opportunity to score himself in Saturday's first half. But less than 10 minutes into the second half, he got on the end of a Djeidi Gassama cutback to make amends.
"Things happen in games and you've just got to stay persistent," he said on the first-half miss. "Just try and keep my head up after that. I know moments will come, I keep my head strong as always, and yeah, it came."
The midfielder says that the prospect of going top was on everyone's minds before kick-off and, as he highlighted the impact of Danny Rohl, he insists excitement is a more dominant emotion than fear within the squad.
He added: "The incentive was there pre-match, there's no hiding it. At the start of the game, we all knew what it would mean to the fans as well. From the start of the season, no one would have thought we'd be here, so to be here is huge for the squad.
"I think the biggest change since the start of the season has to be the manager. We've had some games where we've dropped points, but that's when he's got behind us the most. He knows we've got the quality, we know we've got the quality, so it's about keeping it up.
"We've worked so hard to get here, so there's no fear of losing it; it's more the excitement of keeping it going. That's the main thing. No one's looking backwards now, it's all forwards."
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