Rangers Shift Focus to Incremental Gains Amid Fading Title Prospects

Following their narrow yet deserved victory against St Johnstone, Philippe Clement asserted, “Nothing is won in December.” However, it now appears highly improbable that his Rangers team can secure the title, unless Celtic experiences a disastrous second half of the season. Clement’s current objective is to reduce their main rivals’ 11-point advantage, if feasible, concurrently striving for enhanced performance standards and increased consistency, with the immediate aim of surpassing Aberdeen. Potentially, this points gap could narrow to four by the end of Wednesday’s matches, provided Rangers secure a home victory against Kilmarnock and the Dons suffer a home defeat in their significant league fixture. Such opportunities for minor triumphs should be seized, and considering the league standings just weeks prior, this would represent a significant achievement. A current challenge for Rangers is that each upcoming match presents a potential obstacle. Kilmarnock previously defeated them at Rugby Park and will be eager to repeat this outcome. Similarly, Ross County will pose a challenge in Dingwall on Sunday, recalling their notable first-ever win against Rangers last season, which shifted the title momentum back towards Celtic following Clement’s unexpected revival. Should Rangers secure wins in both these fixtures, potentially demonstrating some flair which has been absent in domestic play, they can then focus on two crucial upcoming encounters: against Tottenham in the Europa League and Celtic in the League Cup final. Further details on these will emerge closer to their dates, but they represent significant future events, notwithstanding Clement’s stated philosophy of concentrating solely on the immediate match. This strategy is rarely deviated from by managers, at least publicly, and the Rangers manager must ensure no one within the club loses focus prior to these matches if he aims for successful preparations.