Derek Johnstone: Rangers have come a long way in six months but have a bit to go before we are back at top

On and off the park, the Rangers fans have people they can believe in and people they have total faith in. And that is why they have come back in their thousands and are supporting the team at home and away once again.

There were maybe sceptics when Mark Warburton came in and people wondered how he would handle a massive job at Rangers after coming up from Brentford. But he has done a great job so far.

I don’t think anyone would have believed how far we have come in such a short space of time since the regime change at Ibrox, especially when you consider everything that has gone on for many years.

The team has settled very quickly, the fans are back on board and there is a real feel-good factor around the club just now. I have always said, if things are not right at the top, it filters all the way through your business and football is no different. Things weren’t right at the top for so long, and that went all the way down through the club.

Now that we have got the right board in, the right manager in, the right players in, the system is there and it is a good-looking one for Rangers. We have come a long way in six months but we have got a fair bit to go before we are back to where we want to be.

There has been a massive turnover of players but Mark’s recruitment strategy has proven to be a wise one, even though again there would have been some people asking questions about just who was coming into the club and what their qualities were.

Mark hasn’t had long to work with the squad but Rangers have been wonderful to watch so far this season. That is why you have sell-outs at Ibrox – because the fans are loving what they are seeing on the park.

That doesn’t mean to say that it is all done and dusted yet, though. We are good to watch but it is a long, hard season and Mark certainly won’t get ahead of himself after what has been a really encouraging start.

The fans are rightly enjoying what they are seeing right now and you can’t blame them. It has not been enjoyable for a few seasons now but things are certainly looking up for Rangers.

You can get bets on Rangers winning every game this season, on them going unbeaten in the Championship or on them scoring 100 goals in the league.

There is no reason why they couldn’t have another unbeaten campaign but that will not be in Mark’s thinking. He will take it very much one game at a time.

If there is a draw or a slip-up along the way, it won’t be a disaster for Rangers but Mark will be keen to keep them to a minimum as he looks to win the title.

You can’t play well all the time and if you let your standards slip then there is a chance of you dropping points or losing a game.

I love Mark’s attitude of not caring what has been done or said in the past. His focus is on going out and doing what they are good at, not worrying about what the opposition are going to do. So far, it has been fantastic.

THERE is still a bit of work to do but this team will certainly get better and they are rightly favourites to win the Championship this season.

But the fans have to remember to take it easy. We are a decent side, one that would probably beat most teams in the Premiership, but there is still a lot of work to be done to get to the level we need to be at.

Mark will be thinking towards the January transfer window and looking at players that he can bring in to make an impact next season in the Premiership.

You don’t start the building process for next season in the summer, you start it in January and you identify players, and sign them if possible, so you can enhance the first team right away.

As the manager always says, you have to take things one week at a time and he is only focusing on his job. He is not interested in the comparisons with Bill Struth’s records and that is a great attitude.

What is done is done, it is what is next that counts and that is Raith Rovers this afternoon.

Loan deal for Murdoch at Cowdenbeath will stand him in good stead for future

I AM sure Andy Murdoch will be disappointed to have found himself out of the first-team picture at Rangers this season and I do feel sorry for the kid.

But going out on loan to Cowdenbeath for a few months could turn out to be the best thing for him and allow him to make an impact at Ibrox when he returns to Rangers.

In the second half of last season, Andy was terrific in the middle of the park and he would have been looking to make a big impact under Mark Warburton this term.

It will have been hard for him so far this season because he has not been involved and he has had to watch on while the team has made a superb start to the season.

But he has to show the right attitude now that he is out on loan and use his time in League One to benefit him in the long run.

At the moment, there are good players ahead of him – midfield is probably Rangers’ strongest area just now – and Andy’s chances are going to be limited.

If you look at the likes of Halliday, Holt, Zelalem, Law and Shiels, it is going to be very difficult for Andy to get into the side and play regularly at Ibrox.

He will not progress as a player by getting the odd five or 10 minutes here and there coming off the bench or playing Under-20s football for the next few months.

He needs good, competitive games and that is what he will get at Cowdenbeath. The best thing for him is going out on loan and hopefully it will stand him in good stead.

He is a good young player, now he has to show what he can do and prove to the manager he can do a job for Rangers in the future.

Transfer window should close when the first ball is kicked

THE transfer window closed on Tuesday night and managers now know what players they have got to work with for the rest of the season.

It was, as expected, a fairly quiet deadline day in Scotland, and it was in England where the big money was spent and the main deals were done.

There is a lot of hype around the transfer window, and especially the final day as managers leave it late and rush to get players through the door before the deadline.

But the time for buying players should have ended before a ball was kicked this season.

A few English managers have spoken about this recently and I would be in favour of the window closing before the first game of the campaign.

You get your players in over the summer and when you start playing, that is you.

Instead, there is a four or five-week period where you have to read and hear about other teams looking to buy your players. It unsettles the players and it can unsettle your team.

For me, as soon as teams play their first league game, that is when the transfer window should close.

If you have the whole summer to do your business, why do you need to wait until the final hours of the window, weeks after you have played a game, to add to your squad?

Your question for Derek Johnstone

ADAM WATSON from Glasgow asked DJ what he thought the score would be at Ibrox for the Championship match against Raith Rovers?

Having won eight games out of eight so far this season, I can’t see past Rangers today and I really fancy them to record another win in front of a big home crowd.

It is another really vital game this afternoon and Mark and the players will be determined to keep their winning run going. I will go for Rangers to win it 3-1.

If you have a question for Derek, just email him at dj@eveningtimes.co.uk and we’ll print the answer alongside the question.