Rangers Star Issues Strong Message as Celtic Lead Title Race

Rangers seem to be settling down under new manager Derek McInnes who, despite bringing in 14 recruits during the summer transfer window, had a notably bad start to the campaign.

However, the Gers have won three games so far since crashing out of both the Europa League and Conference League.

Not really convincing ones, but these three recent victories are just what McInnes and his men need to boost their morale.

The Light Blues looked well structured defensively against Motherwell last night, as they kept another convincing clean sheet.

As it seems, one of their center-backs, Emmanuel Fernandez, is already feeling the positive vibes inside the Gers' dressing room as he issued a strong message following the game, saying (Rangers official site), "We know we have three wins in a row and two clean sheets in those matches, and we are going into the next few games with confidence."

Despite the visitors' larger share of ball possession, the Teddy Bears' defence left no gaps at all for the Motherwell attackers to exploit.

Both Fernandez and Olwethu Makhanya, the Gers' center-back pairing for the game, performed extremely well to protect Ivor Pandur's goal.

The Nigerian international has played a significant role in the Gers' defensive lineup since making the £3.5 million move from Peterborough United last summer, and now, with the inclusion of Makhanya this summer, has further strengthened McInnes' squad this campaign.

A lot of questions were asked of Rangers' summer signings recently, but as it seems, the new manager has finally found a near-perfect system for his squad ahead of some crucial games this month.

The Gers take on St. Mirren at Ibrox this Wednesday, before facing Celtic in back-to-back Glasgow derbies, one in the Scottish League Cup and the other in the Scottish Premiership.

All three games are expected to be the real test for McInnes' squad's newly found form, as they face a St. Mirren side who almost tamed the Gers' crosstown rivals this past Saturday, which will be followed by a true test of nerves during the two derbies against a high-flying Celtic side.

Certainly, Fernandez and his squad's confidence and resilience will be put to the test during this next set of games and will have a great effect on their morale going forward.

The Gers' victory over Motherwell helped them to climb up one spot in the league table and move to fourth with 10 points in five games, the same as their next opponents, St. Mirren.

Although it is still early in the season, but the next three games could be make-or-break for Rangers and their new manager.