Ex-Rangers captain Craig Paterson suggests what Gers’ target should be

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Mark Warburton’s Glasgow Rangers side have made a mixed start to the season.

Rangers manager Mark Warburton

Former Rangers captain Craig Paterson has suggested that Mark Warburton’s men face a monumental task trying to catch Celtic, and should therefore be looking to emulate what Hearts managed last season, the Evening Times reports.

The Light Blues have struggled so far in their first campaign back at the highest level, and are currently sat in fifth place in the Scottish Premiership table having won just three of their first eight league games.

Rangers were beaten in the first Old Firm game

And Paterson has suggested that the seven-point gap to their Old Firm foes may already be too much to make up, and thus, they should reevaluate their target for this season.

“Celtic don’t look like they are going to give much away so you are going to have to go on a wonder run,” he said, as reported by the Evening Times.

Paterson thinks Celtic are heading for the title

“For a team coming out of the Championship, and without the ability to spend a lot of money, I think the target would be to mirror what Hearts did last season when they came up and finished third.

“I know Rangers’ aspirations will be above that but that will be something to look at. Rangers want to try and stay as close to Celtic as they can and then see what happens.”

Though Aberdeen and Robbie Neilson’s men have looked strong so far this term, the recent signs suggest that the Gers are starting to find their feet in the top flight.

After a couple of promising displays went largely unrewarded as they drew with Ross County and narrowly lost to the Dons, they managed to grind out a 2-0 win against Partick following a much less polished performance.

And with much of the criticism of Warburton being centred around his apparent inability to deviate from the team’s favoured game plan, the result against the Jags suggested that he is capable of shaking things up and the team may be starting to get the balance right between playing attractive football and backing it up with good results.