THE gap has become a gulf. Kevin Thomson knows the roles can be reversed, though.

When the midfielder arrived at Ibrox a decade ago, he walked into a side that were taking small steps on the road to recovery.

The first half of the campaign had been wretched for Rangers as Paul Le Guen and his array of summer signings struggled to adapt to Scottish football.

It took the return of Walter Smith and deals for the likes of Thomson, David Weir and Ugo Ehiogu to steady the ship.

They were followed by Steven Naismith, Lee McCulloch and Steven Whittaker and within months the Light Blues had two trophies and a UEFA Cup final appearance to their credit as they narrowly missed out on reclaiming the SPL crown.

The task that faces Pedro Caixinha is significantly tougher this summer. But the fundamental requirement to get the right players on board remains the same.

“I played for Hibs against Rangers when Paul Le Guen was there and we battered them,” Thomson said. “I thought we had better players than them, we fought harder than them.

“But you are playing against Rangers, boys on big salaries and the consistency from our Hibs team was never going to match an Old Firm team.

“When I first joined, we had Sebos and a squad full of players that weren’t good enough to play for Rangers.

“Walter managed to turn it around, we were robust and hard to beat and that gave us a base so that when we did get better players in we managed to turn the tide. That is what Pedro will have to do.

“The team is not as good as the Celtic team so they have to find a way and it is on his head. So the players he brings in have to be good enough.”

Rangers ended their first campaign back in the Premiership 39 points adrift of their Old Firm rivals and also suffered double Hampden heartache as they lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup and Scottish Cup.

The squad that Caixinha inherited and led through the final weeks of the campaign proved not fit for purpose and the rebuilding work has already begun.

Few would bet on Rangers being able to turn the tables in just twelve months but Thomson knows the foundations can be laid this term.

“I think the expectation of the club and the supporters would be to at least finish second and mount some sort of challenge,” Thomson said. “That gap has got to shorten a bit.

“I think it is unrealistic to think they can challenge for the title but are Celtic going to lose players? If they lose two or three, the two or three that come in might not be as good.

“When I was there, I felt the Celtic team were far better than us but within a season he (Smith) managed to turn it around. It can be done.

“Like I have always said, the recruitment and getting the right players in is important and it looks like they are making inroads to get the right quality in.”

Having used his first handful of matches at the helm to assess his options, Caixinha will spend the coming days looking to reinforce his Ibrox ranks.

Defender Bruno Alves became the first signing of the summer on Wednesday as completed a move from Cagliari on a two-year deal.

And Thomson hopes the capture of the highly-respected Portuguese international will bring out the best in the Light Blues.

He said: “It should be a motivation and an inspiration. When you are a player at any level you want to play with the best players.

“His CV speaks for itself and he has had a fantastic career. He can bring that experience, those leadership and will to win.

“I saw him saying he expects to win. I don’t know if you can expect to win at Rangers.

“Players that expect can sometimes fall short but players that demand winning and make sure they do win is slightly different.

“He can bring great qualities and I am looking forward to seeing him to see how good he actually is.”