STEVEN DAVIS knows better than most at Ibrox what questions will be asked over the course of any successful campaign. Crucially, he knows the answers to them as well.

Not all of the tests are going to be passed all of the time and that was the case when Rangers suffered a shock defeat – their only one of the season so far – against St Mirren in the Betfred Cup earlier this month.

The doubts and fears raised in the aftermath were predictable, but the response has been just what was demanded by boss Steven Gerrard. Motherwell, St Johnstone and Hibernian provided three very different challenges, but all were taken care of when required.

Davis has been over the course and distance several times during his Ibrox career and will never make the mistake of considering the job done when there is still so much work to be undertaken.

As Rangers prepare to return to the scene of the crime in Paisley this afternoon, the focus is on moving forward rather than worrying about what has gone and what cannot be changed.

“I would never say unfair,” Davis said when asked about the criticism directed towards Rangers following the 3-2 defeat to Jim Goodwin’s side earlier this month.

“I think we know what comes with the territory. It was a great opportunity for us and to get ourselves to the next stage of the cup so criticism is going to come your way when you are playing for a club of this stature.

“That will always be the case but it is also why we all want to play here, it is what we are thriving for but the most important thing is that off the back of it has been the response. It is important that we put that to bed and are fully focused to go and get results in future games.

“I certainly hope so [that we can go all the way]. There is a lot of football still to be played but up until this point we have answered a lot of questions that have been put in front of us.

“There are a lot of challenges that have come our way and we have come up against different formations with different teams and the way they play and wherever things haven’t gone our way within games so far we have been able to find the answers.

“For us, we just have to concentrate on ourselves and go in with the mentality that every game is the most important one and believe in the quality that we have because we certainly have a very good squad here.”

The quality that Gerrard has in his ranks and the mentality that they have shown this term ensured that the loss to St Mirren was one of the upsets of the season so far in Scotland.

It is against Celtic that Rangers will always be measured but that judgement call can wait until Saturday at Ibrox. The focus isn’t on revenge against the Buddies, just another three points that would take Gerrard’s side a small step closer to their title target.

Davis said: “Listen, I think in the first-half we had a lot of the play and they weren’t causing us too many problems up until they got the penalty and when you are on top you have to take the chances that you have and try to extend that lead.

“Whenever the game is sitting at 1-0 it is always finely balanced. They got the penalty decision and got themselves back into the game and the disappointing aspect from our point of view was that we had fought so hard to get ourselves to 2-2 so late on and then we conceded again straight after.

“There are always going to be things you can improve on when you look back on them and hopefully we can do a better job this time round.

“Our focus is fully on St Mirren. It is a big game and a massive three points to play for. We will certainly be going there and doing our utmost to try and get the result that we want and then the next game will take care of itself. It will be a difficult game but it is important that we get the three points.”

The defeat to St Mirren a fortnight ago denied Davis the chance to add to the impressive medal haul that he collected during his first spell at Ibrox as Rangers once again stumbled on the road to success.

The improvements that Gerrard has made on and off the park once again this term are clear to see but Davis is well aware that winning is what really matters this season and every season.

“It’s always important for the more senior players to help the younger ones along and give them some advice,” Davis said. “From a squad point of view there’s a number who have been here over the course of the last few seasons.

“So they can draw on the disappointments because we know when we’ve stepped off it previously we have been found out.

“That’s why our mentality has been this season that age old cliche, the next game is the most important one.

“We are not thinking beyond that and so far it’s stood us in good stead. We just need to continue like that and keeping pushing each other forward.

“There are certainly things we can improve on and get better at and we’re striving to achieve that each day.

“If we do that then come the end of the season hopefully we can have some success, but until we do that there will be questions asked of us.”