THE opposition and the surroundings will be different and the action won’t be as intense on or off the park. The pressure, the requirement for victory is arguably even greater, though.

Rangers head to the SuperSeal Stadium on Friday night needing to collect three points and prove one following their Old Firm defeat at Ibrox. As Pedro Caixinha said himself, Rangers must show what they are made of.

A win over Hamilton won’t erase the memories or ease the pain from another loss to Celtic on home soil but the next game is always the most important one.

The 2-0 reverse to Brendan Rodgers’ side was another step back for the Light Blues after a mixed start to the campaign.

Now former Gers midfielder Alex Rae knows they need to take a small one forward by seeing off Accies on their return to Premiership action.

He told SportTimes: “Psychologically, the Rangers players need to get back up.

“I have been there after an Old Firm defeat and it is not a pretty place. Going into training, it is not as bubbly, so it is a case of trying to galvanise themselves again for this weekend.

“There has been a lot said. It is OK saying things in press conferences but the talking can only be done on the pitch.

“An Old Firm defeat will always surpass any defeat in terms of magnitude and it doesn’t take you long to realise that.

“The scrutiny leading up to it and afterwards is always tenfold. That will always be the case and now it is about how this team react this weekend.

“If they thought getting beat by Celtic was bad, there will be all sorts of questions marks about everyone unless they step up to the plate. Hopefully they can do that.”

Defeat to Celtic left Rangers eight points adrift of their Old Firm rivals in the top flight standings. Crucially, they are also six behind Aberdeen after just seven games.

It is the battle with the Dons to be best of the rest that will be the main focus for Caixinha’s side once again in the coming months.

And Rae hopes Rangers can rise to the occasion as they attempt to win over their doubters and silence their critics in the coming weeks.

He said: “We have got an opportunity to claw back three points on Friday night and it is about the mentality now.

“That is something you have to have at Rangers, especially after a defeat like that. You need to get back to winning ways and settle things down.

“You are getting criticised in the media, there are question marks over the manager and the players and the only way you turn that around is by winning games.

“That is the scrutiny that comes with the territory and there are a couple of tough games coming up for Rangers.

“I know Martin Canning well and they will see this as an opportunity. They are playing well at the moment, I spoke to people at St Johnstone and they said their game at the weekend could have gone either way.

“They will go into the game with confidence and will have they feel a chance on their own pitch.”

The fall-out from an Old Firm defeat can be tough to take for experienced campaigners in Glasgow, never mind those that are still settling in under the intense spotlight.

Boss Caixinha has big calls to make ahead of the trip to Lanarkshire as he strives to find further improvement in his newly assembled squad.

Mistakes at both ends of the park cost the Gers dear on derby day, but Rae reckons the way Caixinha set the side up centrally also played a part in the defeat.

He said: “The dynamics of the midfield weren’t quite right. I said when I found out that (Carlos) Pena would be drafted in that it was probably going to be a stretch too far for someone who had only played a handful of games and not a lot of minutes.

“Having played against Ross County and Thistle, I knew the intensity in an Old Firm game, which is at another level altogether, could be a bridge too far for Pena.

“He was the one that was supposed to be on Scott Brown and then the other two, Ryan Jack and Graham Dorrans, had to deal with (Stuart) Armstrong and (Tom) Rogic.

“Once Celtic got the first goal, that gave them a boost and confidence, which they have been playing with anyway, and they dictated the tempo of the game from then on.

“Rangers didn’t create that many chances, apart from the header from Morelos, and once Celtic got the second they were on easy street.”

Rangers were dealt a couple of blows before a ball had even been kicked at Ibrox after Lee Wallace was ruled out for up to eight weeks and Bruno Alves was crocked with a calf complaint.

Full-back Declan John was also absent, while the midfield options were reduced as Niko Kranjcar and Jordan Rossiter were forced to miss out.

The injury list didn’t help Rangers’ cause but Celtic’s strength on the bench was as clear as their superiority on the park.

Rae said: “When you look at the strength and depth they have, they are bringing guys off the bench that can make a real impact. It was an indication of how things are at the moment.

“Losing Lee Wallace and Bruno Alves was a big blow to Rangers and if they had them they would have been a bit more comfortable.

“We had to bring a right-back in at left-back in Hodson and bring in young McCrorie, who was the stand-out Rangers player for me on the day.

“It was always going to be difficult and we need to get these guys back up to speed because the next few games are going to be critical.”