IANIS Hagi has thanked his Rangers team mates for helping to keep his morale up during the difficult period that he spent in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19.

Hagi made his first appearance for the Ibrox club in nearly a month on Wednesday night when he came on in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Livingston.

The Romanian playmaker set up Kemar Roofe for the opening goal within a few minutes of taking to the field and performed well in the second-half of the 2-0 triumph.

The 22-year-old confessed the time he had spent in self-isolation after representing his country during the international break had been difficult for him and expressed his appreciation to his colleagues at Rangers for their backing.   

“I was just happy that I was back on the pitch,” he said. “It’s been two weeks that have been really tough for me mentally, to be away from football, away from training, away from games, from the fans.

“But the support I have received has been unbelievable to be fair. I think that’s what kept me going through the quarantine and through those tough moments mentally. I’m just really happy to be back here with everyone and especially with the fans because that’s what I missed the most.”

Hagi, who came on for Scott Wright after half-time against Livingston, is hopeful that he can get a run of games in the Rangers first team now he is back to full fitness and is looking forward to the cinch Premiership encounter against Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow.

The former Fiorentina and Genk forward is confident he can continue to provide Steven Gerrard’s side with the ingenuity they need in the final third to break down opponents who defend in numbers. 

“We play almost every game against low block teams and we need to find ways to just score the first goal and then keep going,” he said.

“There will be nights when we can score in the first 10, 15 minutes and others when we score in the second half. We did the job against Livingston. We’re just happy we are in the semi-finals and we look forward to the next game.

“We play in different competition and different levels, different types of approaches in every single game. We have to adapt and that’s why we’re at Rangers. We have to adapt to every single competition and perform.”

Hagi helped Rangers to win the cinch Premiership for the first time in 10 years last season and is determined to bring more silverware to Ibrox in the coming months – starting with the Premier Sports Cup.

“We can win a trophy so early in the season and that would give us a really good boost,” he said. “Knowing what happened last season in this competition (Rangers lost to St Mirren in the quarter-final), we have something to prove.

“I’m just happy we are in the semi-final and happy I am going to Hampden for the first time. I’m looking forward to that as well. It’s about trying to win games and trying to win the trophy.”