St Johnstone 0-3 Rangers: Pedro Caixinha lauds 'best' all-round display

Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha was pleased with "the best collective performance" of his tenure in Friday's 3-0 win over St Johnstone.

Carlos Pena scored either side of half-time and Graham Dorrans netted late on as the Ibrox side moved three points clear of their fourth-placed opponents.

"Everybody at the same time knew what they needed to do," said Caixinha, who took over at Ibrox in March.

"We want the team to perform like this all the time."

• Wright unhappy at first Anderson yellow

Caixinha had said prior to the game that Rangers had been working on improving defensively.

Reflecting on the game in Perth, during which St Johnstone had Steven Anderson sent off, the Portuguese said: "I think it was the best collective performance since we arrived.

"We were very compact, very addicted to the game plan. Quality and keeping possession, attacking spaces when it was needed - and fighting collectively and defensively.

"So it was the best collective performance. And the cherry on the top of the cake is a clean sheet.

"We didn't give up spaces, didn't give freedom for them to counter attack. That is something we worked at very hard all week and the boys understood it very well."

Rangers' next match is their Scottish League Cup semi-final against Motherwell on 22 October.

Caixinha's Rangers have taken 17 points from nine games so far this season

"Now the moment is for the boys to enjoy - they're going to have three days off," added Caixinha.

"So am I. I'm closing the store and not going to think about football.

"Tuesday and Wednesday, we have all the information on Motherwell and will work on that.

"The desire is there in both teams to win. The opponents will be tough."