If you had told me back in November that Rangers would go on a run of seventeen league game with just one draw I would have doubted your sanity.

But in the middle of all the noise and off-field distractions, it may just have been slightly overlooked just what a run this team are on.

It’s title-winning form in any of the successful seasons of previous eras but unfortunately for Michael Beale, the damage was done before he arrived and in the one shot he had to shorten the gap, he came up just short.

Given the position of the squad both individually and collectively, it is some going and more impressive has been the away form which has caused Rangers issues for long enough.

A belief in recovery, a free-flowing goal-scoring ability and some sharp football has been key to it all. Now it isn’t perfect, it isn’t complete and yes there is absolutely still some work to do, I wouldn’t pretend to say otherwise but I do feel that the signs are extremely positive.

Key to all this was solid January recruitment. Michael Beale may not have got the four signings he spoke about but the two he has got in have been pretty much spot-on.

It’s funny because so much has been written about Nico Raskin and every word deserved but the one who has flown under the radar is Todd Cantwell. When he came to Rangers I thought he may float in and out of the team, I wasn’t overly convinced he would grab his shirt and keep it.

The truth is his impact has been quietly brilliant, just what the team needed. It has been a long-standing complaint of mine that this midfield needed freshening up. It has a lot of very similar players in it when you think of Davis, Kamara, Lundstram and Jack. 

Cantwell is different. He’s similar to Scott Arfield in that he’s forward-thinking but what he has managed to do is find a position in the midfield which compliments the requirements of the team superbly.

READ MORE: Rangers set pieces analysed: Michael Beale's key to league form uptick 

He has a real work ethic, he is constantly pressing and pushing his opponents, that desire and energy has been missed for so long. Then he has the ability to play forward, it’s not always retaining the ball it’s about making it happen and creating for the team.

He’s good on the ball, he sees the forward passes and not only that he has the team at heart. Look at his assist for Arfield vs Raith when he was in but recognises the pass is better and his assist for Tillman to head him earlier in the month.

More impressive than all that however is he has a very gentle bite to him coupled with a confidence and the right amount of arrogance you need to be a top Rangers player. All of a sudden when you sit him with Jack and Raskin there is a drive and strength perhaps not present in previous seasons.

Todd Cantwell has really impressed me but it is only early days and we’ve seen this before. Only a few years ago I thought Lassana Coulibaly was going to be a powerhouse before his progress came to a shuddering halt.

I get the impression Cantwell is different. There is more to come, he wanted a home and we’ve given him one. But we needed exactly what he has given us also. The signs are good, it's exciting.

It’s early days but Todd Cantwell is turning out to be a real diamond of a signing. Yes it’s early and yes the real tests are yet to come but he will relish that challenge. I can’t wait to see what’s next.