Michael Beale must put down Rangers marker in next two matches and avoid Ibrox jam becoming jelly - Hugh Keevins

Everything about Rangers at the moment revolves around the concept of jam tomorrow.

But when they get to Pittodrie this afternoon it will be, more immediately, about bread and butter today. The league game against Aberdeen and next Sunday’s Scottish Cup, semi-final against Celtic at Hampden have the ability to define the club’s season – and not in a good way, unless they’re careful. It’s not about things being better when manager Michael Beale has had the benefit of another transfer window, as one suggestion goes.

The gulf between Rangers and Celtic is, in terms of performances if not points, not as great as some people think it is – another frequently expressed theory that is open to debate. Or else there’s the one about Beale slowly but surely figuring out the way to beat Celtic rival Ange Postecoglou and it only being a matter of time before that happens. All of the above form the basis of the argument for saying Beale will soon have the measure of the team across the road on the other side of the city.

But, to be fair to the Ibrox boss, he has greater self-awareness and that’s a good start to make in the interests of avoiding the pitfalls of presumption. I was listening to the manager chat with Ally McCoist on the radio on Wednesday morning when he said something that has led me to that conclusion.

Beale was referencing his work in assembling a new cast of players and introduced a clause in one sentence that said: “Next season, hopefully under myself.”

It was that kind of sharp intake of breath moment that prompts the need for self-interpretation. My take on it was that the man in charge at Ibrox has, in the midst of a season strewn with managerial casualties, read the room and concluded his job isn’t sacrosanct or