I must start by doing something a little bit unexpected, and that is to thank Celtic.

It’s not something I want to make a habit of but they really have helped us out.

Boli Bolingoli’s stupidity has presented Rangers with a chance to go 11 points clear  before they kick a ball again. That was very nice of him. Celtic, of course, will have the opportunity to catch the majority of that up with the games in hand. However, I would much rather be in a position with the points in the bank rather than playing catch up. It is also a position they haven’t found themselves in for a long time and it will be interesting to see how they cope.

This hypothetical situation will be all academic if Rangers don’t play their part. The first test was passed on Wednesday night with a comfortable win over St.Johnstone to go top of the league. Now it’s all about staying there and building that lead, over the next two weeks I think we are going to learn a lot about the character of this Rangers team.

One of the more frustrating aspects of the last two seasons has been our inability to apply proper pressure to Celtic and capitalise when they dropped points. Too often it would play out that, if we did move top of the league at any stage, you could guarantee we wouldn’t be there by the end of the next weekend.

Massive Old Firm wins in December 2018 and 2019 were followed up with a loss to Kilmarnock in our very next match in 2018 and a defeat to bottom of the league Hearts two games later in 2019.

Rangers play Livingston away and Kilmarnock at home before Celtic kick off against Dundee United. These are two very winnable games and there should be no excuse for not taking maximum points from these fixtures.

I think we can expect very much similar games to those we have experienced so far this season. Both teams will make life difficult for Rangers and set up to be hard to beat and try to pick us off with any loose opportunities.

The horrific excuse of a pitch that Livingston play on is always a great leveller and Gary Holt has spoken about how Rangers will know they have been in a battle after Sunday. I don’t imagine Steven Gerrard will be expecting anything less.

What has been pleasing with Rangers' performances so far has been the ability to breakdown the low block and get the goals to put games to bed, something that was a constant struggle last season. We haven’t been spectacular by any means but with nine points, seven goals scored and none conceded I find it hard to be too critical.

We'll learn a lot about this season's Rangers in our next two games. Then we can sit back and see what this Celtic team is made of, when they're the chasers.