MARK WALTERS insists Rangers have made progress under Steven Gerrard this season – despite the Light Blues heading for another campaign without any silverware.

The 38-year-old was tasked with a significant rebuilding job last summer as he prepared for his first job in management and the early months were encouraging as Rangers qualified for the group stages of the Europa League.

The second half of the season has been frustrating for Gerrard, though, as his side have fallen out of contention for the Premiership title and seen their Scottish Cup ambitions ended by Aberdeen at Ibrox.

Rangers make the trip to Parkhead this weekend for the third Old Firm clash this term and former Light Blues winger Walters is disappointed the outcome won’t have a bearing on the race for the top flight crown.

He said: “It’s a little bit sad it’s not as close as I thought it might be going into this game.

“Rangers had a couple of bad weeks and dropped a lot of points, whereas Celtic have just carried on right through. It’s not going to be as important a game as it might have been in terms of the top of the table.

“That’s a little bit disappointing because Steven Gerrard has done a fantastic job generally and raised expectations. They have played really well at times, so much so that I was thinking this could be the year.

“In saying that, at the beginning of the season I would have settled for second. But the way things were going I thought there was a possibility we were going to do it. Now it’s looking unlikely.

“The league is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Maybe the winter break after the last Old Firm game enabled other teams to sort out injuries and other stuff. Looking back, that break maybe didn’t do Rangers a lot of favours.

“As a fan, I’m disappointed this game is not going to be more decisive in terms of the title. But the team has still come on bundles from last year. They have played good football and the expectation is back to what it should be for Glasgow Rangers.”