LEE WALLACE reckons life at Rangers is simply the best. Now he has urged his Light Blues team-mates to make the most of the opportunity they have at Ibrox.

Mark Warburton’s side head into their key double-header with Falkirk and Hibernian in the next fortnight aiming to take significant steps towards a Premiership return.

When Rangers stormed out of the traps in the opening weeks of the campaign, it looked like it would be a matter of when, not if, they would be crowned champions this term.

Their advantage has been cut to just three points in recent times, though, the defeat to Hibs and draws with Livingston and Morton rare stumbles from Warburton’s side.

Many of their opponents – including Ton striker Denny Johnstone in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-2 stalemate at Ibrox – have claimed teams now know how to line-up against Rangers to halt them in their tracks.

But skipper Wallace is confident Rangers can prove they are still the top side in the second tier as they gear up for two huge festive fixtures.

He said: “I wouldn’t say it is criticism. They’re just giving an honest assessment of the game and it is fair comment.

“You’ve got to praise Jim Duffy and his side for the way they played and how hard they worked.

“They had five or six players going down with cramp due to the effort they put in closing us down, denying us space on the pitch and hitting us on the counter-attack and that worked for them.

“We’re not so good that we can’t give credit to the opposition and we’ve done that when it’s been appropriate this season.

“At Rangers we’re always full of respect for our opponents even if we don’t always get that back in return.

“We’re not going to cry about it because we know we are the best side and that we have the best manager and the best training ground in Murray Park.

“It’s up to us, as players, to go out and maximise those advantages on a Saturday.”

Rangers have found the going tougher in recent weeks as teams have set out to stifle their forward intentions and looked to exploit their attacking blue print on the break.

Ton star Johnstone claimed Jim Duffy’s side knew Rangers weren’t the same prospect as when the teams met earlier in the campaign and were not as clinical in front of goal.

But Wallace is confident the Gers can rediscover their free-flowing form sooner rather than later.

He said: “We’re aware of the comments made by certain opposition players we’ve faced in recent weeks but it’s just about us trying to better ourselves.

“Equally, we’re aware of the facts that we can’t be dropping points at home to teams like Morton.

“But what this evolving squad and our manager – who is new to the league – are finding out is that whenever a team faces us, whether it’s home or away, it’s their cup final.

“Maybe the newer lads have had to get to grips with that but we accept it and we need to make sure that we’re the best Rangers we can be. That will, hopefully, be the case at Falkirk on Saturday.

“I wouldn’t say that this is our first real test. There have been different instances with a young team and, even when we were flying and winning games by five or six goals, we kept our feet on the ground.

“That was the mind-set the manager instilled in us and it’s still the same. We’re in a period where we’re maybe not quite as fluid and performances have dipped a wee bit but, in no way, shape or form, is there any panic in the ranks over our results.

“We’re working harder than ever to try and get our swagger back.”

A lack of cutting edge in the final third cost Rangers dear on Saturday as they struggled to find their rhythm and break down a resolute Ton defensive unit.

It took a late leveller from Martin Waghorn to clinch a point after Kenny Miller’s header had been cancelled out by a James Tavernier own goal and a Stefan McCluskey strike.

Even Hibs’ draw at home to Falkirk wasn’t enough to dispel the disappointment at Ibrox but Wallace insists Rangers should still be satisfied with their current situation.

He said: “We need to guard against counter attacks or teams looking to score from a set piece. We’re not interested in the criticism.

“We’re aware of it, we analyse it and look to be better ourselves and get on with how good we can be and try to beat these teams.

“When I first moved to Rangers it was the same and that teams would come to Ibrox with that kind of game plan.

“Teams are showing us more respect compared to last season and that’s probably because of how well we’ve started.

“We train hard and analyse games and talk in meetings about how we can be better and that’s the focus.

“I said with the turnover in players that the transition happened a lot quicker than many would have imagined with how well we started.

“There is no doubt that we’d have taken being in top spot at this stage of the season and we’re in good shape.

“We’re training hard and we’re aware dropping two points at the weekend wasn’t good enough.

“We were way below our standards against Morton but as the manager said there’s no doom or gloom.

“We realise we’ve come a long way in a short space and there’s much, much more to come.”