Andy Walker reckons Rangers are still just about in with a chance of reining Celtic back in as he changed his tone over their hard-fought victories under Michael Beale.
The Ibrox side are hoping to make it four wins from four under their new boss when they face Motherwell on Wednesday night as they once again look to ask the question of Celtic, who have answered each of their victories with one of their own so far. Rangers are determined not to fall further behind before the New Year derby, which is their next game after the upcoming round of fixtures which also sees their rivals face Hibs.
Speaking after their dramatic wins over Hibs and Aberdeen, Walker said Rangers were "sloppy," criticising their poor defending and insisted they would need to get out of the habit of hard-fought wins and stop giving opponents a head start. But after their victory in Dingwall saw them pick up their first clean sheet of the Beale era, Walker praised their "winning mentality" for seeing out another win, and believes that gives them a chance - albeit a small one - of keeping their title hopes alive.
He said on Sky Sports: “All credit to him (Beale), he’s had three games as Rangers manager and there’s pressure on Rangers in every game. He’s got the nine points, he’s spoken very well, he’s an impressive individual. He’s got terrific coaching experience.
"It is hugely different being a manager. Asking Rangers to challenge Celtic and overhaul a nine-point gap is going to be a really tall order but we saw the capabilities at Pittodrie against Aberdeen where they scored two goals in injury time.
“That showed you there’s a winning mentality there, fighting right to the end. It’s going to be difficult to overhaul a nine-point gap but you don’t rule anything out, all the games are tough.”
Speaking after the victory over Aberdeen, in which Scott Arfield struck twice in stoppage time, Walker previously said: "They have been hesitant, sloppy and have given goals away. To win 3-2 is fairly dramatic stuff, but that's both times they have been 2-1 down under Beale and it's a habit they want to get out of."
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