WHILE Rangers supporters may well be disappointed with the result at Celtic Park, I don’t think you can deny that there are definite signs of improvement from last season.

The international break is a good time to reflect on what has been a hectic start to the campaign for the club, and there are a lot of positives.

Qualification to the Europa League group stages was always the top priority for this part of the season, and that was a huge achievement. We have better players, a better mentality, and a better manager, so there is a lot to be happy about.

What can’t be denied though from watching the match against Celtic is that there is still a gulf that is all too apparent both on and off the pitch.

Celtic’s striker Odsonne Edouard cost them £9million, and they have just sold another striker in Moussa Dembele for £20million, so it isn’t a level playing field when it comes to finances, and therefore when it comes to the talent that is on the pitch.

We can’t forget that we were watching two teams competing on Sunday with vastly different budgets. I believe that Steven Gerrard has definitely closed the gap on the field, but the way the match panned out shows that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Another area where Celtic have the advantage is in continuity. Rangers have made 13 signings and are trying to bed them in in a short space of time, whereas Celtic have players who have been playing together for over two years and even more in a lot of cases.

So, the gap is there and it is only right to acknowledge it, but I firmly believe that gap is closing and will continue to do so.

Gerrard’s gameplan was to hit on the counter attack, much in the same vein as Rangers have done away from home in Europe to great success. But the problem on Sunday was that Alfredo Morelos couldn’t keep a hold of the ball, particularly in the first half.

That meant the opening to the game was a little bit disappointing, because Rangers couldn’t really get out of their own half. The positives at that stage were undoubtedly the performances of Allan McGregor and the two centre-halves, Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic, who I thought were absolutely magnificent.

They showed a real desire to get on the end of crosses and put their heads in where it hurts to clear their lines, and they looked pretty solid despite a lot of Celtic pressure. And if we are being honest, you have to say that Celtic have hit the woodwork three times and McGregor has come up with some big saves, so it was only a matter of time until that pressure paid off no matter how well the defence were doing.

So, I thought Celtic deserved their victory, but I’m not too downhearted by the Rangers performance, because it is early days for a team full of new signings with a new manager, and we have already had a bit of success through the Europa League. As a Rangers man, I’ve got to take the positives.

This is all a learning curve for the manager too, and through time, I think you’ll see Rangers adopting a different approach to playing Celtic. Only Steven will know himself if he would have done anything different this time around, but the problem was that the ball wasn’t sticking up front, and that hurt the game-plan.

The important thing now is for Rangers not to dwell too much on this result after the break. I have heard all the stats about how the points total is the worst at this stage since 1989, but I think you have to factor in the fixtures.

I’d be surprised if there were Rangers supporters who didn’t think when the fixture list came out that it wouldn’t be plain sailing. They have had to go to some of the toughest venues in the league in Pittodrie, Fir Park and Celtic Park in their opening four games.

At Aberdeen, they only lost a goal late on with 10 men, and Motherwell away has always been a very hard place to go. Again, a last-minute goal cost them, and then you have to go to Celtic.

It could easily have looked a lot better than it does in terms of points, and I think if you take these things into consideration, that this Rangers team isn’t a million miles away. There can’t be doom and gloom around about the squad.

The players have done well, they have already achieved one of their objectives for the season in terms of Europa League qualification, and now it is about harnessing that positivity and taking it back into league business when the international break is over.