We have not done enough to deserve being in a title race

ANDY HALLIDAY was at the very heart of the celebrations on the night Rangers’ return to the Premiership was confirmed.

Perched among supporters in the Broomloan Stand, Halliday took possession of their megaphone to begin a song. The image was of a fan-turned-player revelling in the restoration of his club.

Halliday was no less vocal when he appeared in front of the media less than an hour later. Asked about his expectations for the top flight, he threw down the gauntlet to his team-mates.

‘We’ve got to be challenging for the title,’ declared the 25-year-old. ‘It’s as simple as that.’

Eight months on, Halliday is equally frank about Rangers’ current position. He admits they simply have not merited being in a genuine championship race against Celtic this season. Too many points have drained away.

Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with St Johnstone was the latest case in point, as Mark Warburton’s side let slip a position that could have delivered a fifth successive win.

None of this lessens Halliday’s desire to bloody the noses of their Parkhead rivals this lunchtime. Far from it. Finishing 2016 by ending Celtic’s unbeaten domestic record would offer renewed hope of narrowing the gap in 2017.

But the current standings do not lie. Brendan Rodgers’ side enter Ibrox with a 16-point lead at the top. And a game in hand.

Asked if he expected it be closer, Halliday said: ‘Celtic were always going to be favourites coming into this campaign but, from our point of view, we’ve dropped too many points so we probably haven’t deserved to be in a title race.

‘That was the case at McDiarmid Park; when you’re on top, you need to take advantage and capitalise on the chances you’re creating.

‘But if we keep dropping points, then, like I’ve said, we don’t deserve to be in a title race. However, we do believe that we’ve gone back to our old ways in the last five matches and we’ve been playing well.’

Halliday feels the fact they haven’t seriously threatened Celtic’s supremacy should not be held against Warburton. Instead, he feels the players must do all they can to deliver their manager a first top-flight derby victory.

‘If you look at a lot of the games, we have just not played well and that’s why I say we don’t deserve to be in a title race,’ added Halliday.

‘We haven’t deserved to win some games and that’s a disappointing factor but I think we have made huge strides since the gaffer came in 18 months ago.

‘We owe him one and, hopefully, we can put in a performance for him.

‘As I say, I think we have made big strides but there is some way to go to catch up with Celtic.

‘They have all the bragging rights in Glasgow right now but we will try to take one away on Saturday.’

Rodgers has claimed all the pressure is on Rangers today, with Celtic able to feel comfortable about their commanding position.

‘Well, Celtic do have quite a healthy lead at the top, so maybe that’s their frame of mind but I don’t think the Celtic fans will see it that way,’ argued Halliday.

‘I’m jealous that they have a 16-point lead but they have done really well this year and we haven’t won enough games to be in a title race with them.

‘We just need to keep gathering momentum and chip away at that lead. The aim in the second half of the season is to win more games and, hopefully, that will mean chipping away at that lead.

‘Any Old Firm game is about bragging rights but we will be trying to put an end to their unbeaten run.

‘I’m sure it’s not just us that wants to stop them. Aberdeen and Hearts will feel the same way and Motherwell ran them close a couple of weeks ago.’

So far this season, Rangers have suffered a 5-1 rout at Celtic Park and a 1-0 loss in the Betfred Cup semi-final.

Those experiences have been far removed from Halliday’s Old Firm debut, when he dominated Scott Brown in midfield to help his side record a penalty shoot-out success in last season’s Scottish Cup.

That was a collective triumph by Rangers, with every player contributing. Halliday admits Warburton’s squad does not have the outstanding individual flair to summon something from nothing.

‘When you look at our team, if I’m honest, I don’t think that we’ve been blessed by match-winners,’ he continued.

‘If we’re going to win football matches, then we need nine or ten of our players on top form during the 90 minutes. So we’ll try and impose our style from the kick-off and, hopefully, get the win.

‘It’s an Old Firm game and you’ve seen enough of them over the years to know that it’ll be a 100mph affair. At the same time, we need to be composed and brave on the ball.

‘I think our biggest strength is as a team. Hopefully, if all 11 starters and the subs are all at their best, we can put a mark on the game.

‘When I say we don’t have matchwinners, we have boys who have quality who can try to win you games. But when we have won games this year, we have all been on form and most players have played really well.

‘It’s probably only the Inverness game where we have not played well and won, so we have to make sure that we are ready to go on Saturday.’

Halliday hopes Rangers can draw additional strength from their surroundings. Only St Johnstone, in last season’s League Cup, have won a competitive fixture at Ibrox in the past 18 months.

‘I think we have to take a lot of pride in the fact we haven’t lost a league game at Ibrox under Mark Warburton and we’ve made it a fortress,’ added Halliday.

‘We’ve got some really good home form going into this game but Celtic are obviously really strong.

‘They have a lot of momentum but we’ll have the backing of 50,000 fans and they can be our 12th man.

‘It’s important we try and get the win. The fans are an advantage to us — they’ve turned up in numbers everywhere we have been — and they’ve been a big part in our home record.

‘We’ve done really well in the last four or five games. I’ve just watched the St Johnstone match again and, for large spells, it was probably the best we’ve played in that spell.

‘It was two points dropped and that was disappointing but we want to get back to winning ways this weekend.

‘Our fans will continue to turn up, no matter what the result. They’ve waited a long time for us to be back at the top and they’re relishing that — we’ve been responsible for the highest attendance at just about every ground we’ve played at this season.

‘But it’s important we do our job on the park and we’re going to attempt to salvage some bragging rights and chip away at that lead Celtic have established.’

We have made strides but there is still a way to go to catch Celtic