MATCHES THAT WON THE LEAGUE

Chris Jack looks back on the most pivotal performances for Gerrard’s Rangers side

Celtic 0-2 RANGERS Saturday, October 17

When Steven Gerrard guided his side to Old Firm victories in previous seasons, they were greeted with emotional celebrations as hoodoos were ended and scores were settled. This time, it was all rather low-key from the manager and his players.

The same could be said for the game. This was the first derby behind closed doors and it was as comfortable an afternoon as Rangers could have hoped for as Connor Goldson scored in either half.

It was an assured, controlled performance from Gerrard’s side and Celtic were outplayed on their own turf. Defeat at Parkhead saw them fall four points adrift and the gap between the teams was already beginning to show even this early in the season.

This was a statement of intent from Rangers and they wouldn’t look back as they pulled away from Celtic and reaffirmed their superiority.

Hibernian 0-1 RANGERS Wednesday, January 27

Narrow wins over Celtic and Aberdeen put Gerrard’s side in control in the Premiership and this victory was another blow to those who were waiting for a collapse that would never come.

Alfredo Morelos scored the only goal of the game and then received a retrospective ban for his stamp on Hibernian defender Ryan Porteous. It was a night that showed the Colombian at his best and at his worst.

The controversy from this fixture took some time to subside, but the ramifications were longer lasting as perhaps the last major hurdle was overcome by Rangers at the end of a defining month.

Kilmarnock 0-1 RANGERS

Sunday, November 1

This win at Rugby Park took Gerrard’s side nine points clear of Celtic and the questions over a successful title bid were already being asked, and quickly downplayed. Given how impressive Rangers had been thus far, the signs were promising at this stage.

A James Tavernier penalty proved the difference on the day but Rangers had to dig deep in the end and a late Allan McGregor save to block a free-kick from Eamonn Brophy clinched a significant away win following earlier stumbles at Livingston and Hibernian.

It was at this venue, and against this opposition, where Gerrard’s side had previously come unstuck and a determined victory said much about the mentality of the squad as they followed up their 1-0 win over Lech Poznan with another narrow but important triumph.

RANGERS 1-0 Celtic

Saturday, January 2

Celtic left Ibrox with three games in hand but their title ambitions were in tatters after Rangers moved 19 points clear thanks to a Callum McGregor own goal.

Keeper McGregor made a handful of superb stops – including one from Leigh Griffiths – early on as Lennon’s side looked to ask questions of their Old Firm rivals. It was all in vain.

This wasn’t as impressive a performance from Rangers as the win at Parkhead but the points were just as precious and Celtic would undermine their challenge hours later by jetting off on their ill-fated trip to Dubai.

Celtic couldn’t recover from this defeat and a relentless Rangers had no intention of giving them any encouragement as they stormed further clear at the top of the table.

RANGERS fans have not hidden their excitement at the prospect of Alfredo Morelos silencing his critics and hoisting the Premiership trophy above his head as a winner this term.

For Mark Warburton, though, it will be watching Ibrox captain James Tavernier lift the silverware that will provide him with the most joy and satisfaction of all. The Englishman signed Tavernier for a pittance during his time at the helm and helped the right-back find his feet at a club the size of Rangers, where expectation is through the roof.

And it wasn’t just his feet Tavernier found. He discovered his voice. He found form and he brought goals and assists at a rate which, for a defender, borders on superhuman. Supporters looked at Tavernier back in 2015 as another run-of-the-mill player, having signed from Wigan following an unspectacular loan spell at Bristol City.

But Warburton saw something different. He saw a player who was a danger at set-pieces and a threat going forward. Perhaps a player who could use some work on the defensive aspects of his game but, at the time, he could get away with it in the Scottish Championship. Fastforward five years and Warburton’s skipper has been through the wars.

He has been praised for his goalscoring exploits, criticised for his defensive lapses. He’s been dubbed captain fantastic and written off as a liability. One might say Tavernier has been, in many ways, the personification of Rangers’ fightback to the top of Scottish football. When he’s good, he’s terrific. Scoring delightful free-kicks and providing pin-point crosses for Morelos and Co to tap-in and hog all the glory. When he’s off form? Defensive errors costing goals including high-profile moments against Celtic and Young Boys, to name a couple.

Warburton could always see exactly what he had in Tavernier. A player who understood the size of a club like Rangers. Not everyone does. That’s why, with the league title finally sewn up, the QPR manager cannot wait to doff his cap to his skipper and raise a glass to the man he credits with being one of Rangers’ top players throughout their re-emergence as Scotland’s elite club.

“I still watch the results and the progress Rangers have made,” Warburton told Herald and Times Sport. “This has been a huge year for obvious reasons, the club have invested and Steven Gerrard and his staff have done a great job. The squad has developed, they’ve added quality and they are quite rightly marching towards the title. It’s a tremendous achievement.

“They had to close the gap on investment no matter what happened, they couldn’t be that far behind Celtic again with the rivalry as it was. They had to also have the backing of the support to have any chance of success. They got that back, they spent wisely and deserve enormous credit for that.

“It could never be a token gesture, you look at the wage gap that existed for too long. Obviously Rangers going down and the financial troubles, but for Steven to have any chance he had to have that investment to be able to secure better quality player and reward those already there. Like James Tavernier and guys like that. Whatever is said, it comes down to investment and they got that backing. Gerrard has delivered it and I’m delighted for everyone involved with the club.

“James Tav came in at the start of my tenure, he and Martyn Waghorn were the first two guys part of my team, for relatively cheap money. He’s given absolutely everything for the club and I’m so pleased. I remember a wee while ago hearing about Tavernier having a tough time and he was maybe not producing in games, but form is temporary and class is permanent.

“He’s played his way through, he has delivered and pushed through so many times over. I’m delighted for Tav, he’s a top character on and off the field, I’m so so pleased that he’s getting the rewards he undoubtedly deserves.

“What I like about him is that he recognises the responsibility.

When anyone is given a captaincy at a club like

Rangers it’s not done lightly and Lee

[Wallace, now with

He’s played his way through and he has delivered so many times. I look forward to the day he lifts the trophy