Former Celtic midfielder Kris Commons says Rangers were "going through the motions" against Hamilton on Sunday as they fell to a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw.
And he reckons Steven Gerrard won't tolerate his players going on autopilot for the Premiership run-in.
With 10 top-flight games remaining the gap is back to 21 points between the Ibrox side and rivals Celtic, who have two games in hand.
And while that cushion is enough to ensure the two dropped points in Lanarkshire at the weekend wasn't a catastrophe, Commons insists it was a telltale sign of complacency and a team that already think the title is in the bag.
Speaking in his Daily Mail column, Commons said: "They are so far ahead of Celtic that, even when they do have a bad day, they've got a massive safety net to fall back on.
"They earned that insurance policy over the first half of the season. But, for the first time during what has been a near-flawless campaign, Rangers looked like a team who have just taken their foot off the gas slightly during yesterday's draw.
"They were slack all over the pitch. They looked like a team who know that they've already got the title in the bag and, as such, were just going through the motions.
"Steven Gerrard admitted afterwards that his team produced their worst performance of the season and I don't think many Rangers fans will disagree with that assessment.
"They were flat, had no tempo or urgency in possession, and looked devoid of creativity. Those are criticisms which you'd never have levelled at Rangers previously this season.
"The last time they played Hamilton, for instance, they thrashed them 8-0 at Ibrox in November. Rangers were blowing teams away over the first few months of the campaign.
"But the goals just seem to have dried up recently and I dare say some fans probably saw this sort of result coming.
"Barring a 5-0 home win over Ross County last month, Rangers haven't been as free-flowing as previously. It's been quite stodgy, grinding out 1-0 wins over Hibs and St Johnstone prior to yesterday's game. They also drew 1-1 at a struggling Motherwell last month.
"Listen, criticism is all relative with these things. Rangers have still had an outstanding season overall and they will deservedly finish as champions.
"But this should serve as a wake-up call. This was the first match where a slight element of complacency seemed to have crept in among the players.
"Gerrard will come down on them like a ton of bricks if he gets the sense they're in cruise control."
