Mcallister: Rangers need to do what Liverpool have done

● Ex-red says expectations are same and Ibrox side can learn lessons to end drought

Gary Mcallister had particular reason to pay attention to the Liverpool celebrations eight days ago after the Anfield side clinched their first English title in 30 years.

As with Ibrox manager Stevengerrard,mcallisterisa much-loved former midfielder at the club. The Scot held the Uefa Cup, League Cup and FA Cup aloft during a magnificent Indian summer on Merseyside. But he always knew the league remained the most cherished prize.

The same currently applies at Rangers.

While the wait for a league title has not yet been as long as at Anfield, the desire to break

Celtic’s dominance is as fierce. If they fail to wrest the crown from their Parkhead rivals in this coming season it will be ten years since their last league title.

Celtic have of course been successful in each of these seasons which means a recordbreaking ten in a row is in sight.

Should Rangers manage to disrupt that sequence, those lockdown-breaking, fireworklit scenes in Liverpool, outside Anfield and elsewhere, will be made to seem tame.

Mcallister hopes the Ibrox players can draw inspiration fromliverpool.jurgenklopp’s side have coped with similar pressure from their fans and have made it over the line with several games to spare and amid trying circumstances off the field.

“We are trying to instil that self-belief into the players,” said the Rangers assistant manager. “You look at some of our performances last season, especially in Europe when you’re up against high level opposition.

“The players were able to produce. We are emphasising that’s where we need to be going into every game. Rangers are very similar to what I experienced at Liverpool and Leeds United – you can’t switch off.

“It’s about keeping the levels high all the time,” he added. “That’s the demands of being at a club like Rangers, you basically need to win every game.”

Despite operating at very different levels, this is where the Liverpool comparison stands true.

“Obviously Liverpool are world champions, European champions, English champions,” said Mcallister. “When I look in at Liverpool, it doesn’t matter what type of game it is. If it’s a tactical game, they are tactically very aware. If the game is a physical game, they can deal with that. If it’s an open game and you want to take them on at a game of football, they will probably win.

‘They are sort of masters at everything,” he added. “They are not one-dimensional. If within a game it becomes physical for a bit, they have players who can cope with that. And that is the demand here. It’s the exact same. The expectation levels are the exact same.”

Rangers came up short last season. They showed they are unable to deal with all sorts of challenges. A visit to St Johnstone presented problems, for example, as did one to Kilmarnock, where they lost further ground on Celtic.

Mcallister believes the long break from football has helped shake last season’s poor domestic form from the system. While it was obvious Rangers lacked a cutting edge in several post-winter break games, he cautions against