It was the full-back’s first competitive appearance since facing Aberdeen at the start of December, and, as well as featuring, he was also thrilled as Gers dug-out the three points against stubborn Saints.
He told RangersTV: “It was great and every time I am picked to go and play, it’s a brilliant opportunity for me to go and express what I can do and go and try get three points.
Flanagan reflected on the warm-up matches against Tashkent in Dubai and then Queen of the South at the Hummel Training Centre, continuing: “I think they were beneficial and we needed them to get the rust out of our legs to get back going again after the break, and we got the job done tonight.”
Boss Gerrard praised the defensive effort of his side tonight to limit the Saints to very little, with the full-back adding: “Our main aim is to keep clean sheets and we knew at half-time being a goal up, if we kept a clean sheet, the three points would be ours.
“All the defence kept it solid and got that clean sheet we all wanted. With them playing so defensive, you have always got to be aware for the counter-attack, and when they are playing long-balls, you’ve got to cut them out.”