Docherty: In A Good Place For The New Year

CAPTAIN Nicola Docherty feels Rangers are in a good place heading into the new year having signed off for 2025 with victory in Aberdeen.

Racking up a sixth win on the bounce with a 3-0 success at Balmoral Stadium, the Light Blues will now sign off for the winter break with their next fixture in three weeks’ time.

Speaking to RangersTV on how the side are shaped heading into 2026, she said: “I think we are in a really good place.

“If you look across the season as a whole there has maybe been up and down moments but I think over the last maybe couple of months we have really started to show what we are about with the clean sheets and just overall the type of goals that we are scoring as well.

“Then obviously that counter press that we have been doing well as well.

“There is still things to improve on and we know that it is a long season but I am definitely seeing massive improvements from the team.

“Denying goal scoring opportunities for opposition as well.

“A real positive day today and I am looking to a nice little break.”

The skipper looked back on the 90 minutes as a whole against the Dons, and acknowledged the team weren’t at their best but highlighted the timing of the goals as being significant in the end result.

She continued: “That was the goal to come up here and get the three points and obviously getting that clean sheet it is really important as well.

“Aberdeen is a really difficult place to come, when you put the travel in there and then the match itself it was a physical contest, but I thought we scored our goals at really important crucial times.

“I am just delighted that we have come away with the three points.

“I just thought in the first half in moments we were really slack and that is something that we pride ourselves on in the week just doing the basics.

“There was times where they caught us out in transitions and that is something that we will need to look back because we demand high standards from ourselves.

“Look we have managed to score at crucial moments and we spoke about a few things at half time to address and we have come out and scored another one to seal the three points.

“Clean sheet? That is something that we touch on every week, we have our own things that we want to work on as players.

“We obviously have objectives from the staff but it is something that we have really been hitting hard with is what we can we demand from each other day in day out in training.

“Clean sheets is something that we have really wanted to get back to so that is another one that we have managed to tick off and it is a real positive.”

The 33-year-old gave a word on the goalscorers on the day, and the collective improvement from the entire squad as the season has gone on so far.

She added: “[Katie] Wilko I said that to her before the game actually I was like the last time you played at Aberdeen I am pretty she scored four goals so I knew that this was going to be a good place for her.

“Laura Berry has been excellent this season as well. I feel like you have really saw a different side of her, she can play off the right, she can play up top.

“She has got so much to her game that she has improved a lot on and then Shin Ji is just different level of class isn't she.

“I really love playing with her, she is a phenomenal player, just her technical ability is fantastic and just an all in all good human as well.

“She has been key this season but I feel like everybody has really stepped up in crucial moments in games and today was no different.”


  • GIFT VOUCHERS: We've got VIP Hospitality, Ibrox Restaurant, Rangers Museum and Stadium Tour gift vouchers available to purchase online on our Official Rangers Christmas Gift Guide

  • SOCCER WITH SANTA: The jam-packed session, brought to you by Rangers Soccer Academy, includes fun football street games, mini tournaments, and Rangers-themed gifts

  • CHARITY FOUNDATION GIFT RANGE: Including Christmas cards, personalised Santa letters with player cards, a brand new dual crest pin badge, and so much more!