Ianis Hagi admits Rangers’ Scottish Cup shocker ranks down with the lowest days he’s ever experienced in football.
The shell-shocked midfield star has endured some dark moments in a blue shirt. From a devastating knee injury to defeats in derbies and European ties, he’s suffered. But reflecting on that incredible Queen’s Park upset, the Romania playmaker said: “It was probably one of the worst days I’ve had. The disappointment was huge and unfortunately, as a football player, even though you don’t want to, sometimes you have to go through these types of scenarios.
“It comes into my mind also the game against Iceland with Romania in 2020 when we had to win at home and we drew and we just missed out on the playoffs for the World Cup. There are those types of nights where you just go home and you just can’t sleep for a couple of days.
“You just have to reflect, think of what you did wrong, what you can do better. They’re not nice, as I said. The only thing you can do is react. As I said, will that mood change instantly? Probably not, but it definitely helps when you go out there and you win constantly. That’s the main focus.”
Gers could find themselves 16 points adrift of Celtic by the time they kick-off against Hearts on Sunday. Hagi knows their title chances are slim – but he believes hopes is not lost for his side as they look to salvage their campaign by marching on in the Europa League.
He said: “There’s still plenty of football to play. Obviously in the league, mathematically nothing is over. Personally, as long as mathematically I still have a chance, I’m still going to go full no matter what and retain hope.
“And then obviously we have Europe, which we had obviously success in until now. Recent years, also this season as well, the team played really well in Europe. So obviously those games were going to be really big for us.
“And then just in general, as a player when you represent this football club, no matter the friendly games or whatever, you still have to pull the shirt and represent the club in the best way possible.
“So it takes good character and everybody, whenever you sign a deal with Rangers, you owe that to the fans. So there’s not really any type of excuse not to go full out.”