For Rangers, every victory prompts the same response:

can this run be maintained. All 13 league matches have been won, and the team has reached the Ramsdens Cup final. Only an extra-time defeat against Forfar Athletic in the first round of the Scottish League Cup mars the team's record. Each game has become significant for its outcome, but also the context of that result, but there can still be further levels of significance.

Rangers have established a peerless authority in SPFL League 1, and winning the title will always be the priority, but other competitions are not marginalised. Saturday's visit to Falkirk in the William Hill Scottish Cup is an important gauge of how the team is progressing, but also about their ability to cope against comparatively more accomplished opposition.

"At the start of the season, everyone knew we had to win the league; that was our main goal," said Fraser Aird, the young winger. "But getting a good cup run is massive for us and the fans. We are already in one cup final, so hopefully we can keep pushing on and keep our league form going in the cup.

"The gaffer told us this is a massive game for us at the weekend, but we all knew that. I've not really been watching Falkirk this season and I don't know how they have been doing, but our team is good enough to win and we just need to prove that."

Aird returned to the starting XI on Monday night, having been kept on the sidelines by the more experienced players Ally McCoist signed last summer. There was no inhibition to the 18-year-old, though, he played with directness and intent, while his pace and quick feet caused defenders anxiety.

Some of his distribution was awry, but his set-piece deliveries were dangerous and he provided an edge - of unpredictability and dash - to the Rangers team. Patience has also been a necessary quality, though, and Aird accepts that there will be fewer opportunities to prove himself than last season. He has no intention of moving on loan in January, however.

"I knew it was going to be hard because the gaffer signed some brilliant players," Aird said. "The gaffer isn't going to change a winning team. For us boys who got our chance last year, it was brilliant and we did well. The training ground, coaching staff and players are brilliant, so there isn't a better place in Scotland or the UK to learn my trade. Last year, I got my chance and the gaffer showed confidence in me, so I just need to keep training hard."