Derek Johnstone: Complacency is Rangers' biggest danger in Championship promotion bid

Even at this early stage of the season and with so many games left, Mark Warburton’s side have already put themselves in a commanding position.

That is why the game at Ibrox is so important and there is a real incentive there for the players. I think we will win the game.

For the other teams, they are then looking at the gap and know that they face a huge task to catch Rangers.

With the team in this kind of form, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to even get close to them.

There is a chance for Rangers to go on and win the league long before the end of the season.

It is another big game tomorrow afternoon and it will be one Mark and the players are really looking forward to after a good win at Morton last weekend.

Rangers may already be well on their way to the title, but that won’t mean that anyone at Ibrox will take anything for granted.

They still have to work hard to win games. They can’t just turn up at a full house and expect things to happen for them and to get another three points. It doesn’t work like that.

Falkirk are one of the better sides in the division so Rangers will have to play well to win it.

If they do win, they will get a lot of satisfaction knowing that they have pulled even further ahead of the team that is currently second in the table.

The biggest danger for Rangers now is complacency. You can get used to winning and it is easy to take your foot off the gas.

But Mark certainly won’t let that happen, and the players themselves will look to ensure that doesn’t happen, especially after their exchange of words after the Livingston game.

Over the course of a season, a lot of things can happen that mean you can lose your form, and lose games. You can get injuries and suspensions and players can go through a dip.

But if they keep training hard, they will hopefully limit the chances of that happening. You have to train during the week how you want to play come match day.

If they can do that and keep up the same intensity in every session then there is no reason why they can’t keep this winning run going for a while yet.

Mark and the squad won’t take anything for granted. They will take it one game at a time.

For us on the outside, we can say that if they can keep this going then they could win the league fairly early. It is all ifs and buts, but there is no reason why it can’t happen.

I don’t think we will go the whole season undefeated. There are teams, especially when Rangers are away from home, that are capable of taking points from us.

Going to the likes of Queens, Hibs and Falkirk is not easy and teams know how we play and are going out to stop us.

It is all about concentration for Rangers in every game. The new players will have quickly realised that every game is a cup final and they are the team that everyone wants to beat.

We have to be wary and not get carried away. It is wonderful the way things are going right now, but we need to keep it up. If we can do that, we will win the league sooner rather than later.

Tom Walsh in action against St Mirren

At the start of the season, Falkirk were barely mentioned in terms of being in the top couple of positions in the Championship. All the talk was about Hibernian and St Mirren being the closest challengers to Rangers.

It hasn’t happened for St Mirren so far and it won’t. I don’t think they will be in the top four come the end of the season.

In terms of Falkirk, they were in the Scottish Cup final last season and they are a good side under Peter Houston. But they went to Ross County and got beat 7-0. It was a result that came out of nowhere.

In the league, I watched them against Queen of the South last Friday and it wasn’t up to much. It was a low-key 0-0 and Falkirk dropped another two points.

Hibs didn’t start off all that well but then started to get a bit of momentum and signed two or three good players.

They beat Aberdeen, the first team to do so, and you expected Hibs to go on a charge and win a lot of games but then they drop points at home to St Mirren.

I can’t see Falkirk, Hibs, or anyone else in the Championship, being able to put together a run capable of catching Rangers.

Mark will be determined his side will continue to sprint towards the finishing line, though.

Midfield shuffle can open door for Shiels

GEDION ZELALEM will miss the game with Falkirk tomorrow after joining up with the USA Under-23 squad for their Olympic qualifiers.

It means Mark will have to make a change in the middle of the park at Ibrox and it probably comes down to two options: Dean Shiels or Nicky Law?

If he is looking for someone to do the same kind of job that Zelalem does, I think he will go with Dean. Nicky is more attacking, he likes to get forward and get in the box.

The way Dean plays, he is at his best when he goes looking for the ball, gets it, passes it and keeps the play moving through the midfield. He will go and get the ball and sit a bit deeper.

Nicky tends to want to get forward more and might leave a bit of space in the middle of the park.

Mark might want someone bursting beyond the striker from midfield, though.

It is a tough game for Rangers. Falkirk are a good side and they have got good players in midfield as well so it is a decision the manager will think carefully about. Really, there is little to choose between them and, whoever gets the nod, I am confident they can come into the side and do a job.

Both Dean and Nicky have been on the bench for most of the season so it is a real chance for them to come in and make an impact.

If they play well, they will hope to stay in the team next week. So there is a real incentive there for both of them and it will be interesting to see how Mark decides to go at Ibrox.

Warburton eye on big picture after Livi cup call-off

ALLY McCOIST took a bit of criticism when he was manager for calling off cup ties due to players being away on international duty and Mark has now decided to postpone the Livingston game that was scheduled for next Friday night.

Nathan Oduwa, Gedion Zelalem and Fraser Aird are away with their national squads and we will now play the Petrofac Training Cup quarter-final at Ibrox on October 20.

You would think Rangers would have enough to beat Livi even without those three players in the squad.

But maybe Mark is looking at the bigger picture and sees it as a chance to give the players a wee break.

It is a chance to recharge the batteries ahead of the Championship game at home to Queen of the South the weekend after next and he might even look to give the squad a couple of days off.

He won’t be frightened that he won’t get a result against Livingston. He has enough players there to do that job and win the game.

But he is maybe looking to give the players a rest ahead of a number of big games that are coming up. Maybe a couple of days off will do them the world of good.

Your question for Derek Johnstone

MARTYN WAGHORN has scored 14 goals in 13 games for Rangers and Robert Wilson asked DJ what his best return in a season was?

I said a few weeks ago that I didn’t think Martyn was an out and out centre-forward and he doesn’t have the scoring record of what you would call a No.9.

He was never prolific down south but you can’t complain at what he has done for Rangers. He has been magnificent.

In 1978, I scored 39 goals, which included two for Scotland, and won the Players’ Player of the Year and Writer’s Player of the Year awards.

The way Martyn is going, he might well beat my total. He will never have to play centre-half or midfield, though!

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