Even though as records go it sits fairly low in the football order of merit, the manner in which the previous record was beaten must be up there with the recent great moments in domestic Scottish football. Kris Boyd now holds the SPL record for goalscoring, having scored 160 goals.
Rangers are on fire just now. Goals are flying in and the players seem to be taking turns at finding the net. Not so last night. Boyd struck five against Dundee United for the second time in his career to ease past Henrik Larsson's SPL goalscoring record, and his performance fully justified the praise he has been receiving of late.
The five goals showed what Boyd has always had in his locker. The perfect penalty; a drive from range; a tap-in made by finding a yard of space; a tenacious scramble and a bullet into the roof of the net from 12 yards. All good goals in their own way and each an indication of the form and confidence the man is playing with at the moment.
Recent weeks have seen Boyd out-scored by his strike partner. In the past that would have indicated a run of games with the striker anonymous but the Boyd of today has added a few new strings to his bow and seems equally adept at laying on goals for Miller as Miller is for him. The ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play and the previously rarely seen will to hound defenders into a state of fright now men when Boyd is not scoring the goals he is still making valuable contributions on the pitch.
Kris Boyd has often split the support. Many argued that his goals were irreplaceable and if he was lazy, so what? Others wanted to see more of a work ethic from the striker and criticised his off the ball movement and ability to work a defence. Well, if recent performances are anything to go by Boyd will be able to bask in the collective praise from a Rangers support famed for being hard to please.
There were always flashes of a better all round game from Boyd, patches of form that saw performances that belied his reputation for laziness but they were, in fairness, all too few and far between. Whatever Smith and McCoist have said to the big man, it has worked and Boyd looks a far more complete player than ever before. Credit is due to the gaffer and his assistant but the lion's share must lie with Boyd himself: he has pulled up his socks, puffed out his chest and made a fantastic effort to improve his game.
Walter Smith should, at the first possible opportunity, speak to whoever is making the financial decisions at Ibrox and explain to them just how much money we would need to spend in order to replace Boyd. While he is at it, Walter should spell out how many millions we will miss out on by allowing Boyd to walk away for free and how much money it will cost us if we removed his goals and newfound assists from the equation. Boyd had a chance to leave for a significant pay-rise in the summer and declined. This is not a man who will be hard to bargain with when it comes to arranging a new deal - he has a love for the club and wants to stay. We would benefit immeasurably by giving him that chance, both on the balance sheet and in the goals column.
Let's finish off the festive season by beating the enemy on their own patch, opening a 10 point lead in the title race and signing the best Scottish forward of his generation on a new deal!