A PROUD Englishman, a one-time Three Lions captain no less, praising a Scottish goalie. What the dickens is going on?

“World class,” was how Steven Gerrard described Allan McGregor who at 36 is in the form of his life with Rangers and also Scotland. His save against Israel, an instinctive and wonderful one-half stop to deny Tomer Hemed at Hampden on Tuesday night, had to be seen to be believed.

It wasn't so long ago that Scottish keepers were the bane of plenty jokes south of the border. Not any more.

McGregor has always been a good keeper. He wasn’t great at staying off the front pages of the tabloids for a while and perhaps at the time that detracted from what he was and is: a fantastic player.

And these days his off the field exploits are more about leadership than the ladies.

If the season ended now, there is every chance McGregor would be voted player of the year. He would certainly be a strong candidate and his manager knows he’s fortunate to have such a pro at the peak of his powers.

“What a fantastic save,” said Gerrard when asked about his player’s midweek heroics. “It was world class. No surprise to me because I’ve seen it on many occasions so far this season and over the years. That’s the reason why he’s the best keeper in Scotland, in my opinion.

“His form hasn’t surprised me, neither has his influence. These are the exact reasons why when I got a phone call and his deal was 99.9 per cent done, I was asked if I wanted to do it, I said ‘yes, do it, as soon as you can.’

“For me, he’s a world class goalie. He has experience and know-how. You can’t put that into a goalkeeper. It’s a specialist area, experience is key. Not many keepers would have been able to make that save in that type of game.

“We are lucky to have Allan back at Rangers. We are aware of his age and we need to enjoy him while he’s here because with all due respect he’s not going to be around for very long. We need to enjoy him because he’s a top goalie.

“However, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, there’s no reason why he can’t carry on past his present contract, in my opinion.

“He helps me from a manager’s point of view in terms of standards because he’s been at this club when the standards were high, expectations were high, he pushes people in the dressing room. He’s professional, is in great shape, believes in everything we’re doing and a lot of the young lads look to the likes of Allan and Scott Arfield as well.

“They are almost managing the dressing room. They are a big help to the staff. It’s great to have him here.”

McGregor’s influence is something Gerrard will rely heavily on between today, Rangers host Livingston at Ibrox, and the Old Firm match on December 29. That’s eleven games in total, not far off a game every three days.

“There’s no getting away from it that we are a young squad, an inexperienced squad in terms of being in this position,” admitted Gerrard.

“A lot of players came in here that we brought in new and haven’t been playing regular football or haven’t been through the schedule we’ve been through, so to have the likes of Allan and Scott Arfield - the older lads in that dressing room – is gold dust for me.

“Their little one-liners and behaviour will be a big influence on the majority of that dressing room so Allan’s got a very important part to play over the next four and a half weeks but also beyond that until the end of the season.”

Glenn Middleton, at 18, is the youngest and least experienced player in the senior squad. Not that you would guess that with the way he has played in recent weeks.

Gerrard was full of praise for the winger insisting he could be an important player for Scotland one day, and Middleton himself is enjoying himself at the moment.

He said: “I think the most important thing I have tried to add is consistency. Not just in games, but training as well. It’s about trying to hit the levels I know I can hit, doing it day in and day out and showing that he can trust me.

“Getting picked by the manager is definitely a boost to my confidence. If that isn’t a confidence-booster then I don’t know what is. I just need to go out there and perform for the managers and coaches whenever I am asked to.”

Gerrard will need all his squad to chip in over these next eleven games. If Rangers are to mount a title challenge this season then they need to be at worst within touching distance from Celtic when their old friends travel across the city.

“I think we’ve always had opportunities to show where we’re at and how good we are,” he said. “We have a block of fixtures now over the next four and a half weeks, it’s a really key stage of the season with a lot of important games coming up.

“We won’t have much time on the training ground so this week has been really good for us as a staff to get four or five strong tactical sessions into the lads. So, we’re in a good place, we’re feeling good and we’re really looking forward to the next block, as we call it, right up until the Celtic game when we finish for the winter break.”

There is a wrong to put right for Rangers this afternoon.

Gerrard's worst day so far was a defeat at Livingston. Revenge, he hopes is in the minds of the players.

"I’m very confident we’ll be able to cope with it a lot better this time," said the Rangers manager.

"It’s a different surface, different environment. At Ibrox we’ve performed very well so far this season, so I’m confident we can get the right result.

"Livingston was our worst performance as a group this season and if I was a player involved that day I’d certainly have a bad taste in my mouth and really be looking forward to this fixture."