CONNOR GOLDSON summed up Thursday night when he told the new players: ‘welcome to Rangers’ in his interview after the win over Legia Warsaw. And the result and the scenes at Ibrox will certainly have made their mark on the squad.

You could see how much it meant to Steven Gerrard, Gary McAllister and the staff. It was an incredible end to the game. The fans stayed with the team right until the whistle and the atmosphere at the end was just unbelievable.

I don’t think I have seen the manager and Gary celebrate like that since they came to Rangers but it was a joy to watch. And the supporters would have loved it.

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The supporters are so passionate about their club and so loyal towards their club and when you have people that care as much as Steven and his staff do, you know you are heading in the right direction.

Getting through the four qualifiers for a second time is a huge achievement for the manager and the players. I am told the dressing room was sensational after the game with all the players celebrating and jumping about, which is fantastic. That is what is what it is all about.

I don’t think it was the best performance that Rangers have produced this season but what character and spirit they showed to keep going and they got their rewards right at the end.

Look at the spine of the team. Allan McGregor made a couple of really important saves, the two centre-backs were terrific, Ryan Jack and Steven Davis were superb in midfield and Alfredo Morelos, after missing an early chance, stood up to be counted when it mattered.

For me, Nikola Katic was the best of the lot. Last season, he was in and out of the side and he wasn’t happy but the manager told him what he needed to do to get in the team and I thought he was outstanding and easily the Man of the Match.

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The squad would have been in great spirits when they reported on Friday morning but the manager won’t let them dwell on the win. It is done, now it is onto the next one.

Three wins in the Premiership, one in the League Cup and progressing through four European ties all adds up to a very good start to the season for Rangers. But now they can make it a great one if they can beat Celtic on Sunday and go clear at the top of the table going into the international break.

A lot of the fans are very confident that this will be the year for the title and I am optimistic that it can happen for Steven and the players. But it is still too early to say that they are going to win it.

Celtic can’t be written off and they had a terrific result of their own this week as they beat AIK 4-1 to get into the group stages as well. So they will be buoyant coming to Ibrox, as will Neil Lennon after a tough couple of weeks where he has taken a fair bit of stick from his own supporters.

Rangers have been sensational in the last two Old Firm games at Ibrox and deservedly beaten Celtic on both occasions but this is the biggest of the lot. It is a huge game.

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If we could win on Sunday, what a week it will have been and what a start to the season it will have been.

The players will know how much another win would mean to the supporters and they will want to deliver that and experience that thrill from Thursday night all over again this weekend.

It was great, but you need it get it out of your system. Celtic is another game, another difficult game.

If Rangers go and perform, it is one they can win. And what a boost that would give everyone once again.