Rangers brought down the curtain on another Premiership campaign with a 3-1 victory this afternoon as Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst made 10 changes to his side.
The match was a warm-up before the two teams take to the Hampden Park pitch next Saturday to fight it out over the Scottish Cup as the season reaches its climax, and the Gers manager clearly had that and the upcoming Europa League final on his mind.
Debuts were handed to youngsters such as Adam Devine, Tony Weston and Cole McKinnon, the latter two coming off the bench, as the Dutchman put his faith in academy talents to see out victory over Hearts this afternoon.
The home side opened the scoring through Peter Haring in the first half, before goals from Cedric Itten and new sensation Alex Lowry gave Rangers a 2-1 advantage heading into the interval.
Van Bronckhorst made changes galore as the second half wore on and debutant McKinnon was rewarded with a first senior goal, showing the manager what he is capable of ahead of next season.
However, it was a performance to forget for another youngster in Amad Diallo, who let the 47-year-old down in a match where he could have proven his detractors wrong.
A SofaScore rating of 6.9 wasn’t the worst on the Gers team, but the Ivory Coast winger only had 47 touches during his 61-minute spell on the pitch, five fewer than Jon McLaughlin in goal.
Diallo also lost possession 14 times, the third most of any Rangers player behind Itten and Devine, and registered just one shot during the game (which was off target) despite playing in attack.
There is talent in the 19-year-old, as evidenced by some of his displays at parent club Manchester United, but his performances in his limited opportunities in a Rangers shirt just haven’t been up to the required standard. Of the 36 players who featured in the Light Blues' Premiership campaign, he was the fifth-lowest rated by WhoScored, averaging a lowly 6.32.
At a club where victory is expected every week, it can be a baptism of fire for many youngsters, and it looks like the cauldron was just too hot for the Ivorian teenager, who once again let Van Bronckhorst down this afternoon.