THE last time Nicky Law spoke about the very particular expectations that come from playing for Rangers, he ended up having to pack a tin helmet for his summer holidays along with the beach shorts and the Factor 50.

During the course of a wonderfully candid interview at the end of last season, he conceded he was hoping to avoid any supporters of the Glasgow club during his six weeks out of the country because he was, and there is no other way of putting this, tired of being told how "s***" he was.

It is to be hoped he enjoyed those sojourns in Egypt and Italy. They must seem rather dim and distant memories as he comes to terms with a campaign that is delivering much, much more in the way of headcrushing pressure from a multitude of angles.

Law laughs at the suggestion that his April interview - conducted, as it happens, after he had been voted League One's Player of the Year - gave a great and valuable insight into life at a clearly embattled club. "I don't think many people thought it was a good one," he confessed.

Mercifully, the repercussions have not prevented him from continuing to tell it as it is. This ever-honest little Englishman admits Rangers' form has been nowhere near good enough this term. Being nine points behind Hearts, game in hand or not, is unacceptable.

Indeed, he went as far as to state that Ally McCoist's side have left themselves in such a fix that they certainly need to win every game in the SPFL Championship before their November 22 visit to Tynecastle and will probably have to win every one after that to be sure of lifting the title and winning automatic promotion.

Law is even prepared to admit that the off-field power battles playing out between the likes of Dave King, Mike Ashley, Graham Wallace and the Easdale brothers are simply adding to the general air of anxiety around Ibrox.

That is no great admission in itself. It is to be expected. However, when developments away from football are mentioned around Murray Park these days, everyone other than McCoist runs for cover. It is the elephant in the room.

Law, unlike almost all of his team-mates, is willing to bring it up in conversation, unprompted.

"The pressure at the club with everything that is going on, not just on the football side, means there are a lot of worried fans," he admitted.

"That doesn't help when your team is nine points behind. We are expected to win the league and go back up to the top flight at the end of the season. The pressure is always there.

"You learn to get used to it and get on with it, but it can be difficult. The fans see the gap at the minute and give a lot of pressure to the team, but we put a lot of pressure on ourselves as players and staff as well.

"We know ourselves that the season, as a whole, has certainly not been good enough. We shouldn't be nine points behind in the league, but we are. We have to put the pressure on. Hearts have been fantastic, but we are hoping they are going to slip up along the way and I am sure they will."

Rangers have to get back into the Premiership at the first time of asking. Likewise, they have to find a sustainable way of financing themselves. Whether King's call for a new share issue or an alternative proposal from the likes of Ashley is the answer, something has to happen quickly at a club reported to be in grave danger of running out of money in the not-too-distant future.

Law readily concedes that, unlike others in the dressing-room, he is not a multi-millionaire. He concedes he would suffer badly should the club go belly-up. "Of course I would, everyone would," he said.

However, he admits that being embroiled in such a battle with Hearts for the title means that there has been less time to worry about remains a very uncertain future at Ibrox.

"You don't have time to let that get you down because of the football side," stated the 26-year-old. "Because of where we are, chasing Hearts, all of our focus has been on the football. Maybe it is a blessing in disguise that our focus is all on this chase with Hearts. Before we go to Tynecastle, we certainly can't afford to drop any more points.

"We have to keep winning up until that point or after it, really. The gap is too big as it is. I hope, with our game in hand, we'll have narrowed the gap to six by then anyway. Hearts have a tough game against Hibs on Sunday, too. All we can do is concentrate on ourselves, but you hope they'll maybe drop some points.

"It's a huge three or four weeks for us now in the four competitions we're in. These are exciting times, but we need to rectify our consistency before we think about anything else."

Law scored one of the goals as Rangers beat Raith Rovers 6-1 at Ibrox on Saturday, but he refuses to accept all within the garden is now rosy. They won by four at Kirkcaldy earlier in the campaign and followed that up with a League Cup win over Inverness before falling flat on their faces with a 1-1 draw at Alloa Athletic.

"The story of our season is having results like the one against Raith and following it up with not-so-good performances and dodgy results," he said. "Everyone is sick of it, but consistency is what we need at the minute. "It hasn't been good enough from everyone in general this season. It's strange it's been such a mixed bag. There's certainly no panic from the squad or the staff. It comes more from outside."

Rangers go to East Fife in the last eight of the Petrofac Training Cup tonight. Hearts bowed out of that particular competition in August when their reserve team lost 4-1 at Livingston, who are now sitting pretty in the final awaiting the winners of this tie or Alloa Athletic.

Hearts' exit permitted them to pour all their energies into the league, but that kind of 'wiggle room' does not exist at Ibrox.

"The manager here doesn't have the luxury of being able to sacrifice a competition," said Law. "Even for a game like this, we will have three sides of the stadium. It is a full house wherever we go and an expectancy that we win every competition.

"Given the way we lost the final against Raith last season, there is an added determination for us to win this one. Losing that final was the lowest point for me in a Rangers shirt."