Stuart McCall insisted Rangers had earned a vital psychological boost in the battle to follow Hearts into the Premiership after recording a breakthrough 2-0 win over Hibs . The Ibrox outfit had lost all three previous Championship meetings with Alan Stubbs ’ men by a crushing 9-1 aggregate scoreline , but turned the tables at Easter Road in a result which also meant the Tynecastle club were officially promoted as second-tier champions . Goals from Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller — the latter strongly disputed by Hibs — gave McCall a first win in charge and hoisted the Rangers to within three points of their second-placed hosts with a game in hand . Stuart McCall celebrates watching his side beat Hibernian 2-0 at Easter Road on Sunday . There is a fair chance the two sides could meet again in the play-offs and McCall admitted it was essential his side stopped the rot against their Leith rivals . ‘ First and foremost I would like to congratulate Hearts on an outstanding season and winning the title , ’ said the Ibrox boss , who drew his first two matches in charge . ‘ Robbie Neilson and his team have been outstanding all season , so fair play to them . ‘ I am delighted with our performance and the result but it ’ s only one game , we won ’ t get carried away . But it will restore a bit of confidence that has been severely lacking . ‘ It ’ s a stepping stone . But if we are to hopefully get back into the top league at the end of the season then we ’ re likely going to have to play Hibs in a decider . ‘ If we had come here and got beat today then psychologically it wouldn ’ t have been good , so this will help . But we have a long way to go . ‘ We want to go into the play-offs with momentum , with a bit of spirit and confidence and players playing at the level they can play. ’ Rangers had drawn their five previous games and travelled to Easter Road on the back of just one win in nine . Lee Wallace ( centre ) is congratulated by his team-mates after giving Rangers the lead away to Hibernian . Wallace slams home the opener just before half-time to put the away side in control at Easter Road . That dire run had left Ibrox fans despairing about their promotion hopes but McCall , who earned joy from switching to a 3-5-2 shape , feels his team have now shown they are good enough to go up . ‘ Yes , that ’ s all we want from them , ’ he said . ‘ Whatever is past has now gone — even today has now gone . There are players in there who need a bit of belief and confidence . A performance like today can only help . ‘ I said to the players , there is only one thing better than winning and that is winning as an underdog , when people don ’ t expect it of you . There is a long way to go and we won ’ t be getting carried away but it helps with the confidence , morale and belief. ’ Rangers fans chanted McCall ’ s name as the minutes ticked away at Easter Road but he played down the formation rejig that drew a radically improved display . ‘ Listen I am no master tactician or anything like that , ’ he said . ‘ We played a shape and it worked but that was down to the players who carried out what we wanted them to do . ‘ You can talk about formations and tactics , whatever , but the bottom line is if the players show the desire and the willingness and the ability like they did today , then it ’ s about players and them doing the jobs they are asked to do . To a man , they did that today. ’ Kenny Miller slots home to put the game beyond doubt for Rangers and close the gap on Hibernian .
Rangers closed the gap on Hibs to just three points in the Championship . Lee Wallace scored the opening goal for Rangers after the closing minutes . Kenny Miller sealed the tie in 44 minutes with a tidy finish . Click here for all the latest Rangers news .