ALASTAIR JOHNSTON reckons there is a ‘sense of self-belief’ around Rangers once again following their Old Firm victory at Parkhead.
Steven Gerrard’s side moved to within two points of Celtic at the top of the Premiership as goals from Ryan Kent and Nikola Katic clinched a deserved derby triumph.
Rangers still have a game in hand over their title rivals and have suffered just one domestic defeat - in the first Old Firm fixture of the campaign at Ibrox - so far this term.
Former chairman Johnston returned to the Light Blues board in 2017 and said: “Sunday was important for the fans. It is always important to keep their enthusiasm going and that was terrific.
“Psychologically, not just the victory on Sunday but the performance [in the Betfred Cup final] three weeks ago, if you put those things together there is a sense of self-belief in the entire club, that we are back.
“It may not be level terms because certainly the values of the players and the amounts being paid at Parkhead are not close to what we are paying.
“But I do think there is the sense that we are in reach and the mistakes that we made last year after the winter break - let’s hope that we have learned from that experience.”
Rangers won the corresponding fixture 12 months ago as they went into the winter break on a high note.
But Gerrard was ultimately left empty-handed as Celtic swept the board for the third successive season.
Johnston said: “Last year was certainly disappointing because we did feel that we were in reach at the turn of the year, after the victory at Ibrox, but then there was a reality check.
“Steven and the new team had to have time to bed in. I said Steven was going to be a better manager in the second year of his tenure.
“This year was the one, certainly from the board’s standpoint, that we have invested for. There is no question about that.
“We are encouraged by the first half of the season but certainly not satisfied.
“Satisfaction does not come into this thing until April or May, to see how we have done in the competitions.
“But I tell you what, we are better positioned than we have been for a long time.”
Rangers will head to Dubai next week as Gerrard and his players regroup for what could be a historic second half of the campaign at Ibrox.
And Johnston knows there is still plenty of hard work to be done over the coming months as Rangers bid for a first title win since 2011.
He told the PA News Agency: “We are playing against a club who have a very good team and a very good management system.
“That was the difference a couple of years ago when we got pushed around by them in ways which were very uncomfortable to all of us.
“They had better players right across the board than we had but I think that landscape has changed.
“We are getting closer to having parity on the field.
“We would never underestimate Celtic, they have a lot of experience, a lot of very good players.
“But having said that, the last couple of months have given us aspiration that in the second half of the season, we can produce the results that will end up winning something and not just having a quality season.”
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