RANGERS have moved top of the Premiership thanks to successive 5-0 victories at Ibrox as Steven Gerrard’s side have turned on the style against Aberdeen and Hamilton.

But former Light Blues defender Steven Smith reckons it is their ability to win ugly that could be the foundation upon which a sustained title challenge is built.

The performances against the Dons and Accies are two of the finest that the Gers have produced this term. And Smith reckons there are plenty of reasons to be positive at Ibrox ahead of the return to action at Hearts.

Smith said: “It has been a brilliant few weeks. I did the Aberdeen game for RangersTV and it was probably the best I have seen Rangers play for a number of years.

“People went on about how poor Aberdeen were and that they had a lot of injuries, that is fine. But I think Rangers made them look really poor and they were outstanding on the day. I can’t think of one player who had a bad game or was a wee bit off it.

“They continued that against Hamilton and going top of the league going into the break was a massive incentive for them. All the signs are good for Rangers right now.

“There was the disappointment of the Europa League game but that is European football and there are going to be times when you are going to get defeats like that. It is all positive, though.

“If you look at the away performances at the likes of Kilmarnock and St Mirren, people maybe questioned last season what went wrong and what they could get better at and I always said that Rangers had to find a way to win without playing well.

“I think this year we are starting to see that even when they are not playing well they are winning games, which is a great sign for a manager and a team.”