Michael Mols thinks Rangers could finish anywhere in top six in the Scottish Premiership in the 2016/17 campaign if his former club plays such as they did last season.
The Gers, who secured the Scottish Championship last season, earned promotion back to the top flight for the first time since they had to start in the fourth tier following their liquidation in 2012.
Mark Warburton’s team also managed to beat Celtic on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final in the 2015/16 campaign, but later lost the final 3-2 to Hibernian.
But Mols feels Rangers should not get too overexcited with the Old Firm triumph as there is still a big difference between the Ibrox outfit and Celtic.
And the former striker believes a top six finish is on for Rangers in the league next season.
relatedNewsStory
“I think there is still a big gap between Rangers and Celtic”, he told the Herald Scotland.
“Of course, the Old Firm win was good against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, but it was a difficult game.
“I think they need to step up a little bit more to compete with Celtic again. I think there is still a big difference.
“Maybe Celtic didn’t play really well in the semi-final, but we shouldn’t get over-excited by that result. There is still a long way to go.
“For me, it is difficult to judge what the standard will be in the Premiership next season. It’s hard as I have been watching Rangers in the Championship.
“If Rangers have a good season, then they could finish somewhere from first to sixth place for me. That’s what I believe.”
Rangers, who failed to win any of their remaining five games in all competitions last season after their win over Celtic in April, also won the Challenge Cup in the 2015/16 campaign.
