TONY MOWBRAY reckons Rangers will be a force in the Premiership this season after comparing the style of Steven Gerrard’s side to Liverpool.

The former Celtic boss brought Blackburn Rovers to Ibrox on Sunday as they continued their preparations for the new Championship campaign.

And there were positives for both he and Light Blues counterpart Gerrard to take after a 1-1 draw.

Jermain Defoe opened the scoring for the Gers on the half hour mark but the hosts couldn’t hold on to continue their perfect start to the season.

Lewis Travis pulled Rovers level in the second half as Mowbray earned a share of the spoils on his return to Glasgow.

Rangers will return to competitive action against Progres Niederkorn on Thursday night and kick-off their title bid against Kilmarnock a week on Sunday.

Mowbray said: “This was our main ‘out of possession’ game and Rangers didn’t let us down.

“Their shape is good. They are a well coached team with some good players. For us it was the perfect game.

“For Rangers you can see what Stevie is doing. He is putting together a team that has got an identity I would suggest.

‘I can say hand on heart I haven’t watched a moment of Rangers’ play this year, but you can see a coached team.

‘We played Liverpool this time last season and they play the same 4-3-3 formation.

“They press high from the front, they drop their midfielders deep and try and overload you.

‘They suck you on top of them then play through. As I said they are a coached team and you can see they are going to be a force this season.”