After performances and points in the Premiership, prizes are the priority for Mark Warburton ahead of Celtic showdown

Premiership wins over Partick Thistle and Inverness have raised confidence levels and eased the pressure on Mark Warburton but the spotlight will be firmly fixed on the Ibrox boss once again at Hampden.

It was at the National Stadium where Warburton experienced one of the biggest highs of his career last season as Celtic were beaten in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Read more: Mark Warburton was a gamble worth taking and I hope it pays off for Rangers, says former Watford chairman Graham Simpson

He will make the journey across the city to meet a familiar face and now a familiar foe once again on Sunday. The stakes, for the manager and his players, are considerable.

Rangers may only be nine games in to their Premiership return but their pre-season prospects look to have changed already.

It is too early to completely rule them out of the title race, but it is the cup competitions that appear to present their best chances of silverware this term.

The damage to their top flight ambitions was self-inflicted during a faltering start to the campaign that saw them drop as many points as they collected from their first eight outings.

Read more: Mark Warburton was a gamble worth taking and I hope it pays off for Rangers, says former Watford chairman Graham Simpson

Two wins from two games are the start of the repair job but any feelings of positivity will be wiped out if it all goes wrong against Celtic.

The matches against Thistle and their Highland counterparts were ones that Rangers were expected to win and they did so deservedly either side of the international break.

They were difficult tests in their own right, but a far tougher examination now awaits Warburton’s side this weekend.

It is an encounter the Gers can at least head into with their confidence restored after accomplished, if not completely polished, performances at Ibrox and the Caledonian Stadium.

Both showings have been good enough to earn them the points, though, and there have been signs of encouragement for Warburton after several weeks where he had to lament the fact that his side did not get their rewards in the Premiership.

Since shipping five goals at Parkhead, Rangers have recorded four shut-outs on league and cup duty, with only the two they conceded denying them a run of successive wins as they fell to Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

The threats posed by Ross County, Queen of the South and the two Thistles are, of course, considerably different to that they will face at Hampden, but improvement has been found in an area where much was required.

Of the four options – Danny Wilson, Rob Kiernan, Clint Hill and Philippe Senderos – that Warburton has at the heart of his defence, there is no stand-out performer or obvious partnership.

Each player and each combination has its merits and shortcomings and the enforced constant changes, for a variety of reasons, has not been conducive to keeping clean sheets.

Injury denied Wilson a start against Caley on Friday evening, while Senderos lost his place in the team as Hill and Kiernan were paired together once again.

Warburton was pleased with a battling and brave showing from his side but the narrative would have been so different for Rangers had Lonsana Doumbouya headed home early on or Alex Fisher converted with just seconds remaining.

They could have been defining passages of play not only in the match but in Rangers’ season. As it turned out, it was the moment of magic from Kenny Miller that proved decisive.

The post-match analysis was therefore far more upbeat and positive than it has been on too many occasions this season for Rangers.

Read more: Mark Warburton was a gamble worth taking and I hope it pays off for Rangers, says former Watford chairman Graham Simpson

There are details to examine and improvements that can be made but victory in the Highlands was important from a psychological perspective as attentions turn to the second Old Firm showdown of the campaign.

Rangers have already been written off in many quarters and Brendan Rodgers’ side will rightly be favourites to book a return to Hampden against Morton or Aberdeen next month.

But Sunday is not just a chance to avenge a humiliating defeat for Rangers, it is an opportunity to prove that they are on the right track after a run of results that threatened to derail their campaign.

The summer optimism of a title challenge has faded considerably and with a seven point deficit to make up the odds are stacked against Warburton’s side at present.

Rangers have to prove they are capable of a piecing together a sustained run of victories and the fact that they have now battled their way to two whilst not playing at their best will be heartening for Warburton.

That optimism can quickly be lost, though, and the momentum will be halted if Celtic run out comfortable winners once again this weekend.

Rangers have a point to prove to their critics but also to themselves. Their words must be backed up with actions.

Victory over Celtic could be the springboard that their season needs, the foundations upon which an acceptable league campaign could be built.

It would take them to within 90 minutes of their first major trophy in several years and relieve some of the pressure that has fallen on Warburton’s shoulders through a difficult couple of months on and off the park.

Rangers need a silver lining. Warburton can ill-afford more dark clouds to gather at Ibrox.