THE old cliché about not getting too high when you win and not getting too low when you lose hasn’t really applied to Rangers over the last few years.

Every sign of progress has been taken to heart by a support that have been starved of success, while every negative, of which there have been plenty, has plunged them deeper into despair.

They have been strapped in on the emotional rollercoaster. This season, they hope it will be a far more enjoyable ride.

It is only natural that the Ibrox crowd have got caught up in the hype since Steven Gerrard was appointed as manager. Crucially, though, there are real reasons to be optimistic this time around.

Nobody from the stands to the boardroom will be getting carried away at present but few could begrudge them feelings of excitement when you consider the impact Gerrard has had in such a short space of time.

Game by game, performance by performance, Rangers are improving individually and collectively, and the momentum is building both on the park and off it.

“It probably has come soon but the staff have put the hours in,” Gerrard said. “There have been double sessions, classroom work and we made a lot of changes very quickly.

“We knew we didn’t have time to wait and wait. We knew the important games were coming from the beginning.

“Straight into Aberdeen away, St Mirren at home and Europa games as well. We made it very clear the players have to be ready now. Not in two months or three months or six months, we are going to be judged from the start.

“It’s credit to the players. They have taken on a lot of information and started the season very well. They deserve the credit.

“I think the Rangers fans should be excited. We are not hiding away from the fact it is our responsibility to get them excited.

“There is only so long you can say we are new or building or whatever. We have got good players and we are a good team with a good system.

“The confidence is growing and I think performances and results like last night help. I think the supporters’ performance [on Thursday] night will help my players. The players can feel them right behind them.

“They understand what we are trying to do. We are still trying to make changes and tweaks to the squad to become even better.

“We won’t stand still. In every single department where we can grow and develop, we will try our best to do that.”

Victory over Maribor on Thursday night was the most eye-catching performance and result of the Gerrard era to date and the manner of the win has given supporters another reason to be cheerful, and hopeful.

There was a feeling around the stadium that has been all too rare in recent years as the Gers took a stride towards the Europa League play-off round.

There will, of course, be setbacks along the way for Gerrard but he is determined to keep up the feelgood factor and use it to boost his side and their chances of success.

“I can feel the buzz but it was my job when I came in to try and give them something to smile about, to try and build some momentum and snowball that effect,” he said.

“That’s what we are trying to do. But to do that we need to find consistency and keep churning out positive performances.

“It’s not always going to be up, up and up. There are going to be times when we have a bit of turbulence or we suffer.

“But the important thing for me is that we are all together as one, the supporters, the club, the board, the team. If everyone is together as one we can get through the good times together and the bad times.

“Borna (Barisic) watched it from the stand and we spoke about it before the press conference.

“These are the nights you want as a player. That stadium is rocking, the atmosphere is good, there is singing.

“If you are not enjoying playing in front of that then I don’t know what you will enjoy as a player. It doesn’t come much better than that.”

Rangers will make the trip to Slovenia on Thursday night aiming to finish what they have started and set up a meeting with Ufa or Progres Niederkorn at the final qualification stage.

It is domestic action that is their focus tomorrow afternoon, however, and St Mirren are the visitors for their first home outing in the Premiership.

The occasion will always be one to savour but Gerrard has an extra reason to look forward to it as he goes head-to-head with former Everton defender Alan Stubbs for the first time as a manager.

“We’ve had some really tough battles against each other over the years,” Gerrard said. “The Merseyside derbies are very similar to the derbies up here...the rivalry is just as tough down on Merseyside.

“We’ve been rivals for a long time and we live in a similar area so I know Alan quite well and I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a player and he’s obviously cutting his teeth as a manager, just like me although he has more experience. I’m looking forward to another battle, I know he will be desperate to get one over on me.”

It is several years since Gerrard and Stubbs were battling for points and bragging rights on opposite sides of the Liverpool divide, but the Ibrox boss has been keeping close tabs on his former Merseyside counterpart recently.

A trip to Paisley last weekend gave him his first sight of the Saints this season, and a chance to settle further into his new surroundings in Scottish football.

“It’s vital to see other clubs, not just to look at other teams, players and managers but also to have a look at the environment at different stadia, the atmosphere and the size of the pitches and how they feel,” Gerrard said.

“I want to get that education so I went to watch St Mirren because they are our next opponent but I also took some notes on Dundee and also St Mirren’s stadium, ready for when we got there and play them as an away team.”