Former Rangers striker Kenny Miller has noticed a change in mentality in Steven Gerrard’s side this season that suggests they are real title contenders.

The 39-year-old pinpoints the 2-1 win against Kilmarnock on the opening day of the season back in August as evidence that the Gers are now playing in the image of their manager:

“Steven was a winner and his team are showing that mentality. You maybe saw some signs of that in his first season in charge but the real improvement has come in this campaign.”

“You only need to look at the first league game at Rugby Park when Killie equalised with about 15 minutes to go. It looked for all the world as though it was going to be another poor start to the season for them but they managed to find a way to win and that’s what successful teams do.”

“They didn’t play particularly well that day – and Killie were excellent in the second half and worthy of a draw – but title-winning teams dig in in these situations and get the job done.”

Rangers will definitely need to have that winning mentality through the whole campaign if they want to clinch the Premiership title. So far, both Old Firm clubs have dropped just five points in their opening 12 matches, and it’s likely that neither side will fall away in the battle for top spot.

Even so, Miller doesn’t think that losing in another derby against Celtic in the Betfred Cup final would be disastrous for the Light Blues:

“It could go either way but regardless of the outcome for Rangers it won’t detract from where they are because they’re in a good place.”

Their 2-0 league defeat was a setback for Rangers but they have not lost domestically since then, and they are certainly showing signs that they could go all the way this campaign.