Former Rangers star Lee McCulloch has warned that the Gers must win their next eight league games to remain within touching distance of Celtic before the next Old Firm derby.
Steven Gerrard’s men climbed to third in the league table following their emphatic 7-1 win over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership before the international break.
The result helped Rangers remain in close pursuit of league leaders Celtic, who currently sit just two points ahead of their rivals, as the end of the first half of the season looms.
Rangers have been praised for a commendable job so far this season under the guidance of Gerrard, but Celtic have upped their recent performances and results.
Gerrard's men want to be involved in a title scrap and McCulloch has warned that Rangers must try and win their next eight Premiership games to remain within touching distance of Celtic before the next derby game.
McCulloch also added that the run should start from the game against Livingston on Saturday and admitted that Rangers will have a huge psychological boost if they manage to keep Celtic within touching distance.
“Rangers have got nine domestic games and two cup finals in the Europa League before the end of the year and that run of fixtures will shape their ambitions for the rest of the season”, McCulloch wrote in his column for the Evening Times.
“It starts with Livingston on Saturday as the Premiership returns after the international break and Steven Gerrard must be targeting eight league wins to ensure that, at worst, they are still within touching distance of Celtic going into the winter break.
“If they could be level or ahead, that would be a huge psychological boost for Rangers and really set them up for the second half of the campaign.
“It would be massive.”
Rangers suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Livingston when the two sides met in the Scottish Premiership in September.
