IT IS, as Sir Alex Ferguson famously said, squeaky bum time. The top-of-the-table clash between Rangers and Hibs on Monday is a huge game.

Hopefully it lives up to all the hype, and it is Rangers who are three points clear in the Championship heading into the New Year.

There have been few games as big or as eagerly anticipated at Ibrox over the last few seasons. You can’t get a ticket and the fans are really looking forward to it.

It is a huge test for the manager and the players. Since Hibs won last week, they have done nothing but speak in the papers and tried to get under the skin of Mark Warburton and his squad.

It has all been nonsense. The Rangers players have kept a lower profile this week and they will do their talking on the park.

There is no doubt that Rangers are favourites, but it is a massive test for them.

No matter where Hibs are playing these days, they are getting results.

Rangers have got to stand up and be counted, this is the big one and the one that will tell the supporters and the manager what they are made of.

Do they have the heart, the bottle, call it what you like, to go out and beat Hibs and put on a performance?

We haven’t played consistently well over 90 minutes for a while now but everyone will have to be at their best on Monday. If we can win, it is all but a four-point lead when you consider the goal difference advantage.

It would put a bit of daylight between the sides, and put Hibs’ gas at a peep. A draw is not a disaster and we would still be top of the league but Rangers don’t go for draws at home. Rangers need to go and win the game and show that they are a good side. For both teams, it is an absolutely massive game.

The fans will be up for it and there will be nothing like the atmosphere in any other ground in Scotland this week.

It comes down to whether you can handle the pressure and perform on the big stage. This is a real challenge for these players and we will find out on Monday what they are made of.

Even when Hibs haven’t played well recently, they have scored late on and kept their run going. They know that if they play well then they can get a result at Ibrox.

All the pressure is on Rangers and Hibs are trying to get any advantage they can. There is huge expectation as a Rangers player and you have to thrive on that.

Hibs are trying to get in the minds of the manager and the players but they won’t do that to Mark. He is too smart for that and he will come to the fore when he talks to the players.

He will keep them focused on the job in hand and what needs done on Monday and for the rest of the season.

If they do their jobs properly, they will win the game and go on to win the league. The mind games are coming from Hibs, but you don’t win matches with talk.

You win matches by going out on the park and doing it in front of a big crowd.

We will find out on Monday how the players will react to it and whether they have the mentality to play for Rangers and go on and win the league.

The two remaining games between Rangers and Hibs will be important in the title race but there will be points dropped elsewhere by both sides between now and the end of the season.

People have written Falkirk off but they are a very good side and are capable of beating anyone on their day, as they showed last week, and Queen of the South are a good side as well.

They played well against Hibs and lost in the last minute.

We have drawn with Livingston and Morton and that shows that if you don’t play well on the day then you will drop points.

There are plenty of twists and turns to come but there is no denying the games against Hibs are two six-pointers.

Things can change really quickly and Rangers’ form in the last few weeks shows that. That could easily happen to Hibs.

But the only focus from Rangers has to be on Monday and what is a massive game.

A win would be a real lift for Rangers and hopefully propel them back to the levels we were at during the first few weeks of the season.

We have to go out and prove that we can win the league by beating the team that is going to be their main challenger this season. It could be a cracker.

Martyn’s the right man to be put on the spot

Glasgow Times:

MARTYN WAGHORN missed his second penalty of the season last weekend, but I think he will still step up and take the next one Rangers get.

To be fair to Martyn, it was a really good save from Falkirk keeper Danny Rogers, who had an excellent game, but he will still be disappointed that he didn’t score to earn his side a point.

The last time he missed, against Queen of the South at Ibrox, he quickly put it behind him as he scored a winner in the last minute. He will bounce back from the miss last weekend as well.

It comes down to how confident you are at the time. It is always decided before the game who is taking it but, if you feel you are not confident, then you can pass it on.

Andy Halliday has already put himself forward for it and he scored a cracking penalty against Dumbarton at Ibrox. If Martyn is off the park or he doesn’t fancy it, I am sure Andy will put himself forward to take the next one.

Martyn has missed two now but I think he will want to take the next one.

If he is playing well and he believes in his own ability to score, then he will step up.

and hopefully put it away.

He is still the No.1 penalty taker until he says he doesn’t want to take it.

Gaffes are costing refs respect of the players

I WAS surprised when Willie Collum was picked to go to the European Championships next summer and for him to be considered the best Scottish referee is farcical as far as I am concerned.

Glasgow Times:

He has had more red cards rescinded than any other referee in our game this season and he hasn’t had a good season so far.

But people at Uefa clearly have confidence in him.

He had a nightmare at Falkirk last weekend, neither of the penalties he awarded were correct decisions.

They were two really bad calls and his linesmen didn’t him help at all, especially with the first one.

Willie needed him to help him decide if Danny Wilson and Will Vaulks were inside the box and, between them, they made a howler. It was yards outside.

You can’t have that when the stakes are so high. Rangers did well to come back from it but the early goal was a huge lift for Falkirk.

Willie is a very average referee. He has been chosen for the Euros and good luck to him, I hope he does well.

But, at this moment in time, we just don’t have the best referees. Some of the decisions they are making are very poor.

When I look back to the ones I had in the 70s, they were very strong, you never argued with them and you had respect for them.

These days, I’m not sure the same respect is there for referees because they are making so many mistakes.

There is not a week goes by when there are not headlines about a referee mistake.

We need them to be better, it is as simple as that.

Your question for Derek Johnstone

DAVID WILSON from Motherwell asked DJ if he had ever played a game on Christmas Day?

No. I can’t remember ever playing on Christmas Day. There were games on Boxing Day, like there was this weekend, but we didn’t ever play on the holiday, though.

We did play on New Year’s Day a few times and we had some great Old Firm games. There is no way you would play on Christmas Day.

After opening your presents, the last thing you would want to do is play football!

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