Former Rangers boss Walter Smith is adamant the Light Blues can wrestle the Scottish Premiership title away from fierce rivals Celtic this season.

Smith - who had two separate spells as Gers manager - knows all too well what it takes to be a success at Ibrox.

He also knows what it's like to be in a competitive title challenge against the Hoops, and Neil Lennon's version of them in particular.

So it's no surprise, then, that Smith is backing current Rangers manager Steven Gerrard to halt Celtic's dominance in Scotland - if they can cut out the inconsistency.

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He told the Scottish Sun: "I think Rangers can stop Celtic winning the league, I really do.

“Celtic have been the best team for a long period now, but Rangers are closing the gap, no doubt about that.

“If Gerrard makes the changes he wants to, Rangers can do it.

“Rangers’ problem last year was the inconsistency in performances.

“In quite a few games they were winning until the last ten or 15 minutes and they would fail to hold out and it cost them. 

"Those are the things that Steven needs to eradicate."