Philippe Clement has turned me into Rangers believer again but mental pressure is going to multiply - Barry Ferguson

If you had said to me back on September 30 that Rangers would be one win away from clambering to the top of the table, I’d have probably looked at you like you had horns coming out of your head.

Frankly, that seemed a crazy proposition just four months ago after the disastrous start the team made under Michael Beale. Seven games in and seven points behind after the defeat to Aberdeen which finally spelled time up for Steven Gerrard’s former assistant. Things looked bleak.

And yes, privately, I did fear that the game was up for this season’s title bid. I was a big believer as a player that you always had to fight to the end, no matter if you were five, 10 or 15 points behind. But after watching that 3-1 defeat to the Dons at Ibrox, I was seriously worried about where Rangers were heading. However, this is where I think the Ibrox board deserve credit.

They could have rushed into an appointment and compounded one bad move in giving the gig to Beale with another. But this time they bought themselves a bit of time by bringing Steven Davis and Alex Rae in as caretakers and used the October international to do their homework on Philippe Clement. And so far, it’s paying off.

The Viaplay Cup is in the bag and come Tuesday, they could be sitting at the Premiership summit looking down at the rest if they can produce a two-goal win over managerless Ross County. That would be an incredible achievement in itself considering the position the club was in when the new boss arrived. But if they think dragging themselves level has been tough, I have to warn them that it’s now when the real graft begins.

Rangers are right back in this title race but the reality of that is the mental pressure pressing down on the team is only going to