Rangers had the Scottish Premiership title in the own hands at one point but dropped points against Motherwell, Ross County and Dundee has seen a potential five point lead slip to a three point deficit.
With five games to go, it’s far from over and Philippe Clement certainly won’t have given up hope, after all, bigger leads have been caught in fewer games in title wins that will never be forgotten.
With the gap comes the obvious question of goal difference and whether or not Rangers have to close the gap, a question that Todd Cantwell has had to field in the pre-match press conference for the trip to Paisley.
Rangers only focussed on winning claims Todd Cantwell
The design of the top six split means that every team plays each other, in short, there are no easy games.
That Rangers only play twice at Ibrox is a frustration though.
Winning will be all that the Rangers squad will be thinking about, a sentiment confirmed by Todd Cantwell when asked if goals will be on their mind:
“No, I don’t think so. From our perspective, the next game is the most important game.
“We have to win our games. I don’t think we can afford to be too distracted with the little nits and grits.
“If you get to the last two games and you’re five goals behind or whatever then yes, obviously that will change but I think for now we’ve got to take it game by game and just focus on ourselves really.”
What Rangers need to get right in title fight
The difference currently stands at five goals, a situation that wouldn’t be an issue if Rangers had won their games in hand against Ross County and Dundee.
Even beating Dundee would have been enough to keep the title in Rangers hands.
Theoretically, all Rangers need to do is match Celtic in every game and beat them 3-0 at Parkhead.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Todd Cantwell has looked a lot sharper for Rangers recently after his return from injury.
It’s easy to forget just how good a run of form he was in before his hamstring tightened up.
Five goals in nine games is exactly the sort of return that a Rangers number 10 should be getting.
Results and performances are the two most important factors at this stage of the season.
Get those right and goals should follow.
If Cantwell can return to his playmaking best, it shouldn’t be a problem.
