There is no getting away from the fact that if Rangers are to lose to Celtic at Ibrox on Saturday, then their chances of winning the league may well disappear along with the three points.

If Pedro Caixinha is to avoid disappearing too should Celtic win, then the manner of how Rangers lose is important. If it is a heavy defeat, then his situation and Rangers situation will be looking grim.

Eight points is a big gap, and given the lack of consistency that they have shown and the relentless consistency of Celtic, it is difficult to see how they could recover from such a deficit.

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But also in a psychological sense, another thumping from their closest rivals would be a huge blow that I don’t think they could recover from to mount a challenge.

And for Rangers to get something from the game against Celtic, it will require them to show a dramatic improvement on the last game at Ibrox.

They’ve obviously had a change of personnel, and they have had a reasonable start to the season in getting to the semi-finals of the cup and are doing ok in the league.

But as much as from the team’s point of view and the supporters’ point of view, their manager really does need to lay down a marker in this game.

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I think that Rangers have improved. It hasn’t been perfect, and they are five points behind Celtic, but there are small signs there.

Are they capable of putting up a challenge to the champions over 90 minutes though? They have to be, and from the manager’s point of view, he has to show a level of progress.

On past showings under Pedro Caixinha, they are miles away from Celtic’s standard. But he will hope that his new players can help him instil a different approach.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that if he loses so heavily to Celtic again then he will be coming under extreme pressure.

Rangers will be hoping and praying that Bruno Alves is fit and able to take his place in the centre of defence.

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That’s no slight on young Ross McCrorie, who I thought did well when he came on against Partick Thistle. I played in the League Cup final in 1970 when a certain Derek Johnstone came on as a 16-year-old and scored the winner, so I’m not saying young players can’t flourish on the big occasion.

But if you are Moussa Dembele or Leigh Griffiths, then you would much rather be going up against a 19-year-old rookie than a seasoned, experienced international.

If the chips are down and Celtic are threatening to overrun Rangers again, then the experienced head of Alves could be so important for them.

The Rangers mindset will be vital. We know that Celtic’s will be bang on, but if Rangers can approach the game with the right mentality in terms of standing up to Celtic, then it should theoretically make for a tighter contest. If they don’t, I can see Celtic winning comfortably again.

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One of the key things in a game between Celtic and Rangers is who has the stronger mindset. One of the reasons Celtic have triumphed more often of late is because they have the better mental strength.

Rangers are the ones who have to change that, and if they don’t, the consequences will be similar to what they were before.

If you go back to the draw at Celtic Park last season, the Rangers mindset was spot on. They were highly competitive and they got their point in the end.

The best and perhaps only chance that Rangers have is to be just as competitive as that again and be as compact as possible. They can’t take Celtic on in a footballing sense. If they go with their 4-4-2 then there will only be one winner, and that is Celtic.

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I doubt that Brendan Rodgers will rest players for the game tomorrow with an eye on Wednesday’s crucial Champions League tie against Anderlecht.

It is an early kick off, and there are enough days between the games for the players to recover. If they were going back to Kazakhstan then the situation might be different, but there are no problems in terms of travelling to Brussels.

It will be the strongest possible team to get a result, and I don’t see the game against Rangers having any bearing on the game on Wednesday unless Celtic pick up injuries of course.

This game is important for Celtic too to lay down a real marker. I think that the early victory over Rangers last season set Celtic on a roll and really set Rangers back, so I don’t think that Brendan Rodgers will be prioritising the game against Anderlecht.

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Both games are just as important. I can understand the argument that Celtic will probably win the league anyway even if they lose on Saturday, and that the Champions League at this stage should be the main focus, but Brendan Rodgers didn’t get Celtic to their current level by taking his eye off the ball.

My opinion is that the team who gets the greater points in the matches between Celtic and Anderlecht will dictate who will be in the Europa League and who won’t after Christmas. It will be really difficult for either team to get anything from PSG or Bayern Munich.

So, of course that match is vital, but it’s the old-fashioned thing of taking one game at a time and concentrating on what is immediately in front of you.

And you aren’t going to persuade me that a game against Rangers, even in their diminished state, will ever not be of critical importance to Celtic and the supporters.