WALTER SMITH always used to tell us that the important games were the ones building up to the Old Firm and the ones coming out of it. The matches against Celtic took care of themselves.

You had to go into the derby having picked up three points and, no matter how that one goes, come out of it and start another run again by winning that week.

If Rangers can manage to do that, it could set the tone for the next run of fixtures and it is important that they start again on the right footing.

I am sure Steven Gerrard will have a similar message to his players as Rangers return to Premiership action on Wednesday night against Kilmarnock and look to pick up where they left off at Ibrox before the winter break.

That shutdown was a chance for Rangers to recharge the batteries after a really busy first half of the season but there would have been a part of them that just wanted to keep playing games because they were on such a high.

To come away from that and have a break means that Wednesday night is all the more important and they have to get three points from a Killie team that are where they are on merit.

They are in form, they have got some really good players and a fantastic manager in Steve Clarke. He is certainly in the running for Manager of the Year.

But if Rangers play the way they played against Celtic then there shouldn’t be a problem. That is the level they have to hit now.

The players have set their standard and raised the bar and that has to be met in every single game. So, even if you aren’t playing that well, you need to have 100 per cent effort.

The six-year voodoo of not beating Celtic over 90 minutes is out of the way now and they need to take the momentum from that and build on it over the next few weeks.

This is where you could see the influence of the likes of Allan McGregor and Steven Davis coming through and they will be thinking back to the successful sides that they were part of and how they went about their business.

I have said before that it was a no-brainer to sign Davis for what he can do on the pitch. But, off the park, you can’t underestimate the experience he can pass on from the days when he won leagues and cups and captained the club.

McGregor doesn’t need an armband to be a captain-like figure. He just leads by example and demands the best from everyone around him.

And having the two of them in that dressing room can only be a positive for the manager and everyone in the squad as they work towards their goals in the second half of the campaign.

James Tavernier is the captain and he has done well this season, but he is lucky to have people around him in the mould of McGregor and Davis when Rangers find themselves in a situation like this. It must make his job easier but everyone at the club knows how important this next run of games are.

The build-up to the Old Firm was all about putting yourself in a great position before the break. They have done that, and done it extremely well.

Now it is a chance to set themselves up for the run-in and if they can start well against Kilmarnock then who knows where they could end up in this league campaign.

The mentality has changed an awful lot, even from the start of the season, and that is down to the manager and his staff.

Rangers are definitely on the up and there is a chance to be in there with their rivals and put a bit of pressure on them. That is something that they haven’t had for the last four, five, six years.

Rangers will experience that the longer this challenge goes on and pressure situations can change people and players. First, they need to get themselves in that position and then prove that they can handle it.

We are halfway through the season and there are just a couple of points separating four teams at the top but, for me, there are only two possible champions come May.

Kilmarnock and Aberdeen are up there on merit and they have a chance to strengthen their squads in what remains of the transfer window.

But, to date, it is Rangers that have done the best business and the board have laid down a marker by helping the manager get players like Davis and Jermain Defoe in. That is a statement of intent.

Killie and Aberdeen have got the managers to go all the way and, I believe, the players to put in a challenge. The important games for the Old Firm, who will be first and second, could be against Killie and Aberdeen.

That starts with a massive fixture at Rugby Park on Wednesday night and then Rangers are up at Pittodrie next month.

If they could come through them, it would put a bit of distance between themselves and those two sides and send out a message that they fancy their chances in the title race. That, of course, will be easier said than done, though.