Arthur's Column // 27th Sept 2022

The Rangers players should have a real spring in their step this week in training as they get ready to play Hearts on Saturday.

Having beaten Dundee United 2-1 in the last league game, it was a good way to end what had been a difficult period with the three defeats in a row.

The bonus came when Celtic lost 2-0 at St Mirren and the gap is now down to two points.

It goes to show that Ange Postecoglou and his team are not unbeatable in the domestic game.

Rangers can also beat them, for sure, and there needs to be that belief to go and do it, the way they did in the Scottish Cup semi-final last season.

But we can't control what happens to Celtic we play them in the New Year fixture.

What is more important is the here and now and with the kick-off at Tynecastle being at lunchtime, we have a chance to go top of the Premiership.

Celtic don't play until 3pm against Motherwell so we want to put as much pressure on them as possible.

To do that, we need to win. And we can. Yes, Hearts is a difficult venue and they have a good team, but we are better than them.

James Tavernier and the players should be desperate to get onto the pitch and show they are ready to find a run of form.

We are now entering a six week period that may well shape how things are going to look for the rest of the season.

The domestic calendar stops on November 12th for the World Cup and our aim should be to win every league game between now and then.

We need to stop the negativity that has been hanging over Giovanni and the club for the past couple of weeks.

It's time to move on and the best way to do that is to win games.

We play eight league games between now and mid-November and we have to target 24 points. Why not? That's the way it should be if you want to become Champions.

So, the onus is on the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Antonio Colak, Ryan Kent and the others to create chances and score them.

Sure, it's going to be a tough schedule with four Champions League games to also play and the League Cup quarter-final. I understand that.

However, they are playing for Rangers and they need to be able to cope with the physical demands and have a strong mentality. They must be ready.