Michael Beale highlights Antonio Colak’s qualities after Rangers’ brace

And the Ibrox boss is happy to see the forward fit and firing again after topping a fine performance against Hibernian with a clinical Easter Road brace.

Colak bore much of the goalscoring burden in the first half of the season as questions arose over the form and fitness of forward partner Alfredo Morelos.

The Croatian scored 14 times for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side before an injury setback just before the World Cup break kept him out of action for several weeks.

It took Colak some time to get back into the groove under Beale’s tutelage but he was on the scoresheet in the Scottish Cup win over Partick Thistle.

An impressive all-around display against Kilmarnock at the weekend was enough to give him a start for the trip to Leith as Morelos had to settle for a second-half cameo.

CONTINUE READING: Hibernian 1 Rangers 4: Best of the Lot in fine win for Michael Beale

And Beale was once again full of praise for the 29-year-old as he increased his tally for the season to 17 goals and played his part in an emphatic win on Wednesday night.

Beale said: “I just got natural enthusiasm. He goes and pushes and works for his teammates. He’s part of the team.

“I’m happy for him because he didn’t score a goal over the weekend and his whole game isn’t about scoring goals. Part of his connection game, his movement, he’s infectious in terms of his energy.

CONTINUE READING: Michael Beale makes eight goals for himself as Rangers easily defeat Hibs

“He couldn’t show me what he’s got because he got injured before I came in and he’s played small roles here and there.

“In the last few weeks he’s started to look really fit, his personality has come out in the group. I’m happy for him.

“I thought he and Fashion as front two were really good, Ryan behind them, Todd and Nico took on the game, Ryan Jack was outstanding.

“I thought it was a really top performance and you could see that in the way the stadium was at the end. The home fans were obviously gone, so we dominated the game.”