Rangers boss Walter Smith faces an Old Firm derby dilemma following an impressive performance against Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League.Daniel Cousin once again repaid his manager's faith in him by grabbing what proved to be the winner at Easter Road, as the Ibrox side secured a 2-1 win which flattered the hosts.

Another encouraging sight for Smith was Jean-Claude Darcheville coming off the bench for the last 15 minutes after enduring both injury and personal problems recently.

Both players will now be pushing for a starting role against Celtic next Wednesday, giving Smith plenty of food for thought.

Steven Naismith opened the scoring against Hibs and a superb strike from Cousin all but put the game beyond the home side before a late strike from Merouane Zemmama provided a scoreline which failed to reflect a match dominated by Rangers.

Cousin was also on the scoresheet against Motherwell on Boxing Day and Smith said: "I thought he played well here.

"He had one good attempt in the first half which drew a good save and a great finish for the second goal which proved to be the winner for us.

"I feel he has played well in the last few games. Like everything else, people take a bit of time to settle in.

"He's got a number of goals here - sometimes he may not please everybody - but he has shown he can get among the goals and that's an important factor anywhere."

However, Darcheville will also be pushing for a return to the team for the clash with Celtic as he bids to put what has thus far been an erratic debut season behind him.

Smith added: "It was important to get him back in and get him on the pitch again. He has been training well for the couple of days he has been back.

"Hopefully now we can have use of him on a more regular basis for the rest of the season.

"It has been an awkward start for him through injury and then a bereavement in his family over the last week or so.

"It's been a difficult time for him but hopefully that is behind him and we can see him on a more regular basis."

As well as the front players, Smith could also have Lee McCulloch and Charlie Adam back in contention next week after both missed the trip to Edinburgh through injury.

He said: "We will need them all over the period of time. It's down to me to choose who to pick.

"We have a run of games coming up and we will need everyone fit for as long as we possibly can."

Reflecting on the efforts of his players at Easter Road, the Rangers manager added: "We are delighted with the win.

"I felt we had a lot of possession in the second half of the game which eventually led us to have a little bit of slackness in our play.

"You're always concerned when that happens and Hibs scored to leave us with a nervy last few minutes. Apart from that I felt we played well overall and deserved the win.

"It's a very difficult place to come and win at Easter Road, Hibs have beaten us already at Ibrox.

"We wanted the win and we managed to do it so we have to be happy with that situation."

Hibs caretaker boss Tommy Craig once again refused to be drawn on whether he could be a permanent replacement for John Collins but refuted suggestions that the absence of a manager had a bearing on the result.

"I don't think so because this is typical of our recent form going back six or seven weeks," he said.

"We have been drawing games we could have won. We've lost three, drawn seven and won one. Three defeats and seven draws doesn't sound that bad but seven points from 27 is not good either."

Asked about his own future in the hot seat, he added: "I haven't even thought about it."

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