Steven Gerrard has dismissed the notion the winter break has previously derailed Rangers' title charge.
The Ibrox side go into Saturday's derby with a 16 point lead over Celtic at the top of the Premiership and are in pole position to pick up the league trophy this season.
This is the first time under Gerrard the Light Blues have been in such a commanding position at the half way stage, but they have entered the New Year the previous two seasons with two derby wins under their belt, before falling away as Celtic stormed clear.
It raised the question why Rangers have dramatically dropped off the pace with a theory the Dubai winter break had a detrimental impact.
But Gerrard has rubbished that suggestion and insists they have simply not been good enough at the business end of the season.
However, if Rangers do get a positive result for a third successive year in this fixture, Gerrrad hopes they can build on it this time round and end the season on a high.
He said: "We don't see it as pressure, we see it as an opportunity and are focused on the game plan to go and execute. It is an opportunity to take three points and make our position stronger.
"I think you can see our growth from my first derby several years ago.
"Every one of the players is looking forward to this fixture and it does feel very different from my first derby as manager.
"We've obviously had success on previous seasons in this fixture then not built upon it. Hopefully, we can continue our rhythm after this fixture.
"People try to blame the winter breaks or Dubai as the reason for the poor results after the Old Firm but it is a load of nonsense, the reality is we simply were not the best version of ourselves."
