There was still another two-and-a-half months of the 2025/26 campaign remaining, another nine William Hill Premiership games to be played and another 27 points up for grabs.
Yet, when Andy Halliday watched his former club Rangers surrender a two goal lead to Celtic in a league match at Ibrox at the beginning of March, he questioned whether they had the character required to land the Scottish title.
Hearing manager Danny Rohl dismiss the doubts which were expressed about his players’ resolve following the costly 2-2 draw – which came a week after his side had been held to the same scoreline by bottom-placed Livingston at Almondvale - did nothing to alleviate his concerns.
He was ultimately proved correct. The Glasgow giants lost their first four fixtures after the top six split and finished in third place in the top flight table behind their city rivals and Hearts.
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But Halliday has confidently predicted, before a ball has been kicked in the new season, that there will be no problems with Rangers’ mentality going forward now that Derek McInnes has replaced Rohl.
The former midfielder, who retired from playing this summer following a final stint with Motherwell, feels that every side that McInnes, who has had spells in charge at St Johnstone, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Hearts in this country, has managed has shown the steeliness that is needed to compete for honours.
“How many times did we see Hearts score a goal in the last minute last season?” he said at the launch of the William Hill Premiership fixture list. “There was a period of five or six home games where they won 1-0, keeping clean sheets. That was through desire, through character.
“Derek McInnes's sides have always had that resilience, which probably the Scotland national team has at this moment in time as well, that we saw.
“That's one thing you could certainly level at Rangers recently, that they've not had that resilience, they've not really shown that strength of character in the big moments. I think Derek McInnes is going to play a huge role in improving that.”
Halliday continued, “You're going to have tough moments. It's how you handle them, it's how you come off at the end of them and it's also how you reverberate around your players.
“There was a couple of occasions towards the end of the season when I don't think Danny Rohl answered questions correctly. That brings on more noise, especially in-house when it's the players, when it's the fans.
“He didn't like the mentality question, but I think everybody in Scotland could see there was a mentality issue, except for him. So fans will think, ‘Is he really getting the situation?’ Because if you don't think there's a mentality issue, when that's a glaring area you need to improve on in the summer, then it's obviously a worry.
“But it's led to Rangers making a profit and for me getting somebody better at the helm. So it's worked out pretty well. As soon as you heard that Rohl was away, there was only one candidate for me, and they got him.”
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Like so many Rangers supporters, Halliday was delighted when inexperienced German head coach Rohl departed for Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and was replaced by McInnes this week.
He is convinced the Scot, who took Hearts to within a few minutes of their first Scottish title in 66 years last season, is better placed to lead the Glasgow club which he played for back in the 1990s now than at any stage during his managerial career.
“There's never been a better time to approach Derek McInnes,” he said. “It's probably been 10 years in the making. The biggest club he's managed up to now would be Hearts. He’s now used to dealing with big expectations.
“I’ve played there. For a club that's not won a barrel load of trophies over a couple of decades, there's still an expectation to win and do well in cup competitions.
“The season previous, Hearts were playing a derby against Hibs at Christmas. It was a bottom of the table clash. They finished seventh in the league. Then you see the transformation in just one season, what he brought to the club. So I think it ticks a lot of boxes.”
Halliday added, “We've got two clubs in Scotland with Celtic and Rangers who I think are unique in world football. With the demands, the expectation, the pressure, you need to be more than just a brilliant coach.
“I think Danny Rohl proved that and I think Michael Beale proved that. By all accounts, they were brilliant coaches. But you need to be able to handle the expectations. You need to be able to talk to the media and handle the fan pressure. Derek's shown that he can handle that.”
McInnes turned down the chance to replace Pedro Caixinha as manager at Rangers back in 2017 when he was at Aberdeen and it was suggested at the time that he harboured concerns about the off-field issues which were plaguing the Ibrox club as well as the size of his transfer budget.
But Halliday is optimistic the Scot will receive the backing that he needs to land domestic silverware and do well in Europe from the 49ers Enterprises and American healthcare tycoon Andrew Cavenagh.
“They're a lot more professional than they were two or three years ago,” he said. “The American investors have come in and they've made mistakes, but they've owned their mistakes. They've come out and they've been honest with their mistakes.
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“Jim Gillespie [chief executive] is highly thought of in his role as well. Stig Inge Bjornebye has just signed on [as performance director]. That's an area as well where Rangers were really needing someone strong at the helm.
“They need a bit of stableness when it comes to the actual head coach, in terms of the manager. Too often with Rangers it has been rinse and repeat, but it's because they're initially getting that appointment wrong.
“This is as low risk an appointment as they've made for such a long time. Obviously, from Rangers and Derek’s point of view, they’ll be hoping he’s here for a long period of time.”
McInnes has brought coaches Alan Archibald and Paul Sheerin with him to Rangers from Hearts and looks set to add Chris Clark from Kilmarnock to his backroom team. Halliday knows that having his own men around him will be important.
“We're 24 hours away from Rangers returning for pre-season and it looks as if at this moment in time, although there's been chaos for the last week to 10 days, they've got their ducks in a row,” he said.
“The only slight negative, and I say slight, is I would have loved them to bring in someone else that's got a top, top reputation as a coach. That's my only slight thing.
“That doesn't take away from Alan and Paul, because they deserve this move as much as Derek deserves this move. But that one extra guy, someone that's coached at the top, top level, would have been good. Now the question is, ‘Who is that?’. It's obviously hard to pinpoint.
“But I think it was really important that Derek got these guys in that he trusts, that he's worked with before, that know how he works and vice versa. So for me, it's really positive.”
Andy Halliday was speaking on behalf of SPFL sponsors, William Hill, on the launch of the 2026/27 William Hill SPFL fixtures.
