RANGERS have never seemed far from a crisis in recent years so events over the last few months must constitute a relative period of tranquillity.

Mike Ashley's emergency loan has diminished the prospect of imminent financial meltdown, while on the pitch it has been a lot calmer as well.

Out of the ashes of a home defeat by Hibernian on September 29, a result that had many supporters calling for the removal of Ally McCoist as manager, Rangers have now strung together eight successive victories across four competitions. On top of that, they have not conceded a goal in their last six matches.

It perhaps says more about the performance of the opposition than their own that they did not have to be especially swashbuckling to put Falkirk to bed on Saturday. Some of Rangers' play, in fact, was quite laborious at times, in the first half especially. They came alive in the second half, scoring three more to add to Nicky Law's first-half goal, to eventually win quite comfortably, a result that keeps them within touching distance of leaders Hearts.

The decision to face Alloa Athletic at home this Saturday - rather than postpone the fixture as a result of international call-ups - now looks a smart one, regardless of whether it was taken by the directors for financial rather than football reasons. With this sort of momentum building, it would have been folly for Rangers to have sat idle twiddling their thumbs and given Hearts the chance to move seven points clear ahead of the teams' meeting at Tynecastle in a fortnight.

The only cloud on the horizon for Rangers going into this coming weekend's game is that they will need to do so without Lewis Macleod after the midfielder's call-up for the Scotland squad for the double-header against the Republic of Ireland and England.

Macleod impressed again versus Falkirk, starting wide on the left of what was effectively a 4-2-4 formation, then moving to the right later in the game when David Templeton had gone off to be replaced by Steven Smith. He contributed a goal, a header for Rangers' second, then added an assist six minutes later, sliding an enticing cross across the box for Kenny Miller to lash past Jamie MacDonald.

The consensus is that the 20-year-old will eventually move into the central midfield role he finds most natural but for now, with Law and Ian Black patrolling the middle of the park, he has had to settle for a position wide on either wing. It has not diminished his ability to make a contribution, however, with eight goals to his name now for the season.

It is difficult to see Macleod featuring for Scotland against the Irish on Friday night - certainly not from the start - but there is a feeling growing that this is a special talent with a glowing future ahead of him.

Richard Foster, who spent nine seasons as an Aberdeen player, believes Macleod is destined for great things. "I have nothing but the highest praise for Lewis," said the full-back. "I think he is exceptional. He is the best young player I have seen come through at a club. He is naturally a very gifted player and it is a joy to be in the same team as him.

"I think he fully deserves his call-up. He just seems to have it all at the moment and is winning us games on his own sometimes. He will certainly be a big loss next weekend.

"You can't lose a player like Lewis and not feel the effects. However, we should have enough players in the squad to put on another performance like this and win the game."

Rangers have not found goals hard to come by in recent league games -they have scored 16 in their last four outings - but much of their success has been built on a new-found impenetrability at the back. With the same four defenders appearing for a seventh game in succession they reduced Falkirk to a smattering of half-chances, a Rory Loy header in the closing minute about as close as Peter Houston's side came to scoring past Steve Simonsen. It is that continuity, confirms Foster, that has been key to Rangers' recent good form.

"We have kept quite a few clean sheets in a row," he added. "There is a solid base at the back and now we are creating loads of chances.

"There is a consistency now at the back and I enjoy playing alongside Darren [McGregor]. We help each other through the games and if I make a mistake he is always there and vice versa. It is the same on the other side with Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace doing the same so we are feeling fairly solid."