Arthur's Column // 20th October 2022

THE margin of victory against Dundee was narrow but the performance was a dominant one.

Steve Davis got the winning goal in the 10th minute and it was fairly straightforward after that.

Rangers are in the semi-final of the Premier League Cup and face Aberdeen in the last four tie in January.

That fixture will take care of itself when the time comes and it's great to be in with a chance of winning the first piece of silverware of the season.

However, right now, there are more pressing matters.

Giovanni and the players are back in League action on Saturday at home to Livingston. They then go to Napoli on Wednesday night.

I understand the eyes tend to wander towards the Champions League tie, but the SPFL Premiership game is more important.

Between now and the break for the World Cup Finals, we have five League games to play. We must take 15 points. We need to stay in touch with Celtic.

That must be the aim and we should be looking to be top of the table after we play the Old Firm game at Ibrox on January 2nd.

If we are serious about winning back the title - and I know Giovanni is - then that is the short-term goal.

January is also the month of the transfer window and our recruitment needs to be spot on.

Looking back now, with the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't up to the standards required at the turn of 2022 and we can't make the same mistakes in 2023.

But that is in the distance.

The here and now is winning as many games as we can in the next few weeks. I believe the players are capable of getting maximum points.

Getting positive results in the next two Euroepan games will be much more difficult, especially in Italy in midweek.

Napoli are a top, top team and they will go far in the tournament. But it is not an impossible task. We must beleive we can pull off a shock result.

Ajax aren't as formidable as the Italians but they are still a very capable outfit.

However, we should be aiming for the three points and it would give us all a lift if we rounded off the section with a win in front of the Rangers supporters.