IT was great to see the real ruthless streak in Rangers’ play in the emphatic win over Motherwell on Sunday, because with the way the league is going and how tight things are likely to be come May, goal difference could be a crucial factor.

Rangers passed the ball at real pace and Motherwell couldn’t live with it. To score seven goals - and it could have been more - will be really pleasing for Steven Gerrard, particularly when his side have come under fire of late for a lack of quality in the final third.

On an afternoon of huge positives, another pleasing factor was the strength in depth of the squad that was being showcased, with Eros Grezda getting off the mark and Glenn Middleton showing yet again that he can really add something to this Rangers team from the left-hand side.

The fact that these guys can come into the line-up and make such impressive contributions bodes well for what will be a hectic period leading up to Christmas, with eight Premiership matches and two Europa League matches to come before Celtic visit Ibrox on December 29th.

There will be injuries and suspensions to contend with, and it will be vital that the Rangers side isn’t significantly weakened when manager Gerrard has to turn to his back-up players if they are to keep pace at the top of the division.

Make no mistake, Rangers are right in that mix. Points will be dropped by all of the teams up there as the Celtic draw at Livingston on Sunday showed, and it may well be that whoever can best weather this heavy fixture schedule over the next seven or eight weeks will be the ones to go on and take an important advantage into the second half of the season.

It looks to me as if Rangers are equipped to do just that.