THE Rangers performance against Raith Rovers last week wasn't just their best performance so far this season.

I'd go so far as to suggest it was their best display in the last two years.

Now I must admit I have not, unlike many of their fans, seen every game played in that time by the Ibrox giants.

But that seemed to be the consensus of opinion of many of the travelling supporters I spoke to at Stark's Park after commentating on the game for BT Sport.

It is certainly the sort of showing the followers of the Light Blues demand and expect to see from their side.

And it was all the more remarkable given that it came amid more headlines about the peculiar economics of the Glasgow club.

However, I also spoke to a number of Raith Rovers fans on my visit to Kirkcaldy and I was very interested by what many of them told me.

I knew that Grant Murray's side had been beaten by the same 4-0 scoreline at home by Hearts earlier in this 2014/15 league campaign.

However, to a man the Raith supporters felt the capital club had played better than their major title rivals.

I think that tells us that the battle between Hearts and Rangers for the SPFL Championship this season is going to go right down to the wire.

There are three more league games between them still to come this term, two of which will be played at Tynecastle.

I think we are going to see a real ding-dong battle between these two clubs in the months ahead and I am really looking forward to it.

Hearts, who won a thrilling opening game with Rangers by 2-1 at Ibrox thanks to a last-gasp goal from Osman Sow, are currently ahead by just a single point.

Will the Jambos be able to stay there? Or will their main opponents for the league title and promotion be able to edge ahead of them again, as they did briefly with the their win last week? It will certainly be interesting to see.

But one thing is for sure, Rangers will need striker Kris Boyd to rediscover his scoring touch if they're to do so. I have no doubts he will.

Every forward goes through patches where it just does not happen for him.

Boyd, however, is a battle-hardened professional and he will come through it. He will certainly be helped in that process by fellow frontman Nicky Clark, who is contributing a great deal to the Rangers side at the moment.

All of the focus at Rangers this summer was, quite understandably, on the return of the attacking duo of Boyd and Kenny Miller.

Clark clearly feels he has a point to prove. He is a bright young player who brings Gers a bit or energy and urgency. Like him, Ian Black and Nicky Law have come in for their share of criticism in the past.

But both of them impressed against Raith. They formed a formidable alliance in central midfield and both got on the scoresheet.

It was the best I have seen Black play for Rangers.

By his own admission, he has disappointed at times in Ally McCoist's team. However, I believe that, on his day, he is a better player than people give him credit for.

There is more to Black than just a hard man.

His passing can be sublime. We have not seen enough of that in the last few seasons.

But if he can stay fit and maintain the sort of form he displayed last week, Rangers can certainly challenge his old club Hearts for the title and a guaranteed place back in the top flight.