Ufa red – I feared we’d get a kicking
confidence from the first half of the season when they finished off by beating Celtic and could have gone top by winning their game in hand after the split.
He added: “If we show the form and consistency we showed in the first six months then 100 per cent [the league can be won].
“Celtic have been the best team in the country for a sustained period of time, since Brendan Rodgers went in they really kicked on.
“They went unbeaten and it was an incredible booking and the gaffer told him, ‘You are on a booking, we are down to 10 men and I need the most professional of performances in this half’.
“Flanagan goes for a 50/50, elbows (somebody) in the head and then it was a red card. I was thinking if we don’t go through here then the gaffer is going to kill somebody in this changing room.”
Rangers are awaiting a date for their return against Bayer Leverkusen and Halliday has warned the Germans not to run that year and I don’t think the majority of Rangers teams from the past could cope going up against a team who were unbeaten because it had never been done before. “But I think we are a lot better than we were back then and it is about us trying to close the gap as quickly as possible. “I think last year we certainly did that for six months but then after January our form dipped. It is about showing that consistency for the full season.” Ibrox fans were asking why their team’s form fell to bits after the winter break. Even Halliday struggles to answer write them off despite the Ibrox side trailing 3-1.
He said: “It will be a tall order but the boys will have the confidence and will try to work out something special but Bayer Leverkusen are a very good team.” that one. He said: “It is the magic question I’ve been asked by everyone.
“I certainly can’t put my finger on it because we went to Dubai had a great break and everybody trained really hard and came back raring to go.
“The first game was Stranraer and it was a 2-0 dogged performance but even in that game we didn’t play well.
“We went into the first league game and we didn’t play well and then we played Hearts and it was just a run we couldn’t snap out of.
“I remember going into the Braga game thinking if we could get a positive result it could see us turn and be playing like we did at the start of the season.
“We were unbelievable for the 180 minutes against Braga and I remember I thought that should be the tide turning.
“We just never recovered that form domestically and I can’t put my finger on it.
“If we get into that position this year then it is something we can’t do again.
“We certainly need to be a lot more consistent throughout the campaign than we were this season.”