Premiership winning Steven Gerrard’s message from day one of pre-season was clear - it was all about Rangers and clinching that 55th title.
On-loan Sunderland winger Jordan Jones celebrated from afar at the weekend, as the Light Blues clinched their first Premiership title in a decade.
All the noise from the summer had been about Celtic trying to make it a record-breaking 10 in a row but within the grounds of the Rangers training centre, Gerrard made it clear to all his players that it was all about them and what they did.
Gerrard knew if the Light Blues were the best version of themselves, they would win the league and that proved to be the case – as they did it in some style with six games to spare.
Jones said: “The message from the gaffer was that we had to focus on ourselves and if we were at our best every week then we would win the league.
“We had to make sure we were at our best most weeks and the weeks we weren’t then we needed to fight for each other and drag each other through it. That is what has happened.
“We knew it was about Rangers and not Celtic.
“We believed we had the better squad and staff around us. There was no talk about stopping 10 In A Row, it was more, ‘we are Rangers and we are going to win the 55th title this season’.”
The Northern Irish international was delighted to watch the weekend celebrations but knows they will quickly be forgotten and the Rangers manager will be looking for even more success.
Jones believes they can become Invincibles and can also go for glory in the Scottish Cup and in the Europa League, where they play Slavia Prague in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Thursday.
That is before they even look at next season’s Champions League.
Jones excitedly said: “This title is massive for everybody associated with Rangers, from the board to the pitch staff.
“The team still has a lot to play for. They are still in Europe and there is the Scottish Cup.
“The gaffer won’t let the boys take the foot off the pedal. There is also the league. Yes, it might be won but knowing the manager the way I do, he will want to go through the remainder of the games unbeaten.
“They can do it, I don’t think anyone can argue against them going unbeaten.
“He has let the boys enjoy themselves but he will be quick to put his marker down, to finish the season on a high and then the boys can really enjoy it all summer.”
The former Kilmarnock star admitted the pain of lockdown last season and watching Celtic being prematurely crowned champions was a major driving force in making sure that Rangers didn’t fall short again.
“This campaign felt different from the first day of pre-season,” Jones insisted.
“Last season ended with the lockdown and everyone of the Rangers staff and supporters had to watch social media with a lot of pictures of the Celtic players with the Premiership trophy.
“Everybody connected with Rangers had to sit back and watch it all. We were all determined to make sure it wasn’t going to happen again.
“We all knew it was vital that Rangers won the league.
“It had got to the point where we knew it couldn’t go on anymore and we had to get Rangers back to where they belong and that is what the manager and the boys have done.
“The way the boys and the club have done it has been nothing short of phenomenal.”
Jones is looking to help Sunderland with a title of their own in the shape of England’s League One crown before he returns to Rangers in the summer.
He watched the weekend celebrations and was delighted for everybody connected with Rangers, to see them rise to the top again after a decade of suffering.
Jones said: “I have seen all the videos from the boys after the St Mirren game and then with the celebrations at the training centre.
“It would have been great to be there but I am at Sunderland on loan and I need to be fully focused on my playing games here.
“I am just delighted for the manager, all the staff and the players at Rangers.
“I know all the hard work that has been put in. It is amazing the job that everybody has done and the mentality shift over the last 18 months.
“It is hard to put your finger on it but everybody has just had enough. You don’t want to put the club and the fans through any more suffering and everybody had got to a point where there was no way the boys were going to let it happen again.
“I am hundreds of miles down the road but I still had that special feeling when the final whistle went at Tannadice.
“I have seen a lot of the videos of the fans and it is amazing for them with everything they have had to go through over the last 10 years. They are now back at the top of Scottish football.
“It is massive for the fans and the only real disappointment is the fans haven’t been able to be at any of the games.”
Rangers coach Michael Beale also took to social media to tell Jones he was part of the success and all the first-team loan players have been told they will be back up at Ibrox for the medal presentations.
