MARK HATELEY admits it is vital Rangers maintain their Championship momentum ahead of the Old Firm Scottish Cup clash next month.

Mark Warburton’s side turned in their finest performance of the campaign as they beat Dundee 4-0 on Saturday to book their place in the last four at Hampden.

The Gers return to league action at home toMorton tomorrow night as they bid to move another step closer to a Premiership berth.

There are several key fixtures – including the Petrofac Training Cup final – on the Light Blue schedule before the Celtic showdown and Hateley hopes Warburton’s side can keep up their impressive winning streak ahead of the second derby dual in twelve months.

He said: “There was a league apart [last year]. It was the champions against a side from the Championship.

“We play in this league which is a world apart from playing in that league. We are doing what we’re doing in this league to get out of this league.

“I don’t know if it’s going to evenly matched or not. What I can say is that Rangers are playing well in their own domestic league.

“Whether that’s going to be good enough to go up into the next league the day will tell us. I think there are a lot of games to come before the Old Firm game.

“Mark will probably be going down the line that this Friday is just as important as the Old Firm game. Then the week after and the week after that.

“It is all about continuity and how you can keep your team on top, on their ‘A’ game going into an Old Firm game.

“There are a lot of players here who haven’t played in an Old Firm game. They are naïve to the fact of what this game is all about.

“But if you take a great standard of form into it, and with form comes confidence, including in the fans, you are going to have that around the whole game.

“But it is all about winning Friday’s game and then the week after that and the week after that. To have that level of performance and have a chance against the champions.”

 

*The Show Racism the Red Card team were delighted to be able to visit Rangers Football Club on Wednesday, March 9 to deliver an anti-racism educational event with local primary pupils from the Glasgow area. Mark Hateley joined pupils from Ibrox Primary to promote the anti-racism message.