IAN Durrant knows the score only too well.

The fact is Rangers can keep winning games, continue to have clean sheets and Alfredo Morelos could score goals for fun, which is all well and good, and Steven Gerrard continue to inspire the supporters - but if everyone is being honest then only one things counts.

And that is how Rangers play against Celtic when these two old chums say hello for the first time this season on Sunday, September 2 at Parkhead.

Durrant was at Rugby Park yesterday, where he is almost as much a legend as he is at Ibrox, to promote Kris Boyd’s testimonial, and he did very well, but as he said himself, there are weeks to go before the first Old Firm game of the season and already this is what people are looking to and talking about.

Celtic Park has not been a great venue for Rangers since their return to the top tier. The last derby there was a 5-0 win for the home side as they clinched the title. It can only get better, surely.

Durrant loved playing against Celtic and it didn’t take him long to speak about the Old Firm even when he was asked his thoughts on Alfredo Morelos.

“He was the top goalscorer last season but the thing about centre forwards is they rely on ammunition,” said one of the best players to ever play for Rangers. “He has been scoring every week and will be looking to keep that going. If he stays free of injury and suspension then he will be looking to improve.

“But the crux of the matter is this: can he score in Old Firm games. He has this opportunity in a few weeks to show he can do that.

“The game against Celtic is the ultimate marker. Of course it will be. I’m not saying the games will determine who wins the league but everyone will be looking at this match to see how far Rangers have progressed.

“They were unlucky in a couple of the games last season. There were moments here and there when they might have got in front and then Celtic proved just that wee bit too strong on several occasions.

“Will the Old Firm games be a contest this season? We will find out soon enough. Morelos did miss a chance at Ibrox last season which would have made it 3-2 to Rangers, then Odsonne Edouard does score and Celtic win 3-2.

“The smallest of factions in these games do count for a lot. You just need to take your chances when they come. It is funny. There is a month to go before the Old Firm game and we’re talking about it. But that’s what it is. It has been a mismatch in some of the previous games and now we will find out how close the teams are.”

You could tell that Durrant wasn’t reading too much into the supposed problems between Brendan Rodgers and the board “he will get more players in” but he has been impressed with how Gerrard has made Ibrox and the training ground a happy place to be again.

Durrant said: “Steven Gerrard has got people smiling again. There’s a feel-good factor about the place which hasn’t been there for a long time. Everything about the club is on the up at the moment.

“I hate going on about it but it’s like when I was there and Graeme Souness came in. Rangers has had a similar lift with Gerrard, compared to where the club had been before.

“You can tell by the way fans are turning up for games now. You see the way Gerrard talks – everything is positive and long may that continue for Stevie G.

"I haven’t seen too much of them this season but they seem to get the ball forward quickly and they have pace in the team and good legs in the middle of the park.

“They have solidity in the middle of the park and he’s also brought good defenders in. Plus Morelos is smiling again. He’s a threat and if you get the ball into him then he’ll cause you problems."

Ian Durrant was speaking at the launch of The Kris Boyd Testimonial. Boyd has been granted a Testimonial after years of sterling service during three spells with Kilmarnock FC. He has scored 223 league goals during his time at Kilmarnock FC and Rangers FC. For details on Testimonial events, including a Sportsman’s Dinner on 8th September, follow @boydyofficial