Rangers will do everything they can to chase down Celtic in the title race.

That's the message from new boss Michael Beale. 

The 42-year-old took over the reins at Ibrox on Monday as he became the club's 18th permanent manager, replacing Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

There is little doubt that things turned stale towards the end of Van Bronckhorst's tenure. 

While he delivered a Scottish Cup win and guided his side to the Europa League final and Champions League group stage qualification, he lost last season's league title and left the club with a mountain to climb in this term's battle for the Premiership crown.

However, Beale insists his team won't stop in their quest to cut down that gap. 

The Englishman has pointed out how difficult an ask it will be, though.

He told Sky Sports: “He (Ross Wilson) was the driver of me coming back. They saw the work I did before and saw I was moving towards being a manager.

"The job Steven did was incredible, he was the boss then Gary then myself but they obviously saw something in me and that gives me confidence to come and do the job.

"Me and Ross have always had a positive relationship because we have a massive enthusiasm for the game. We’re almost like football nerds, we watch every game and know all the players. We won’t stop night and day to push this club forward."

He continued: “It’s going to be difficult. Ange has got a team with momentum. Fair play to him for the job he’s done until this point. My job is to chase him down. The players job is to chase him down. That’s a mentality shift from how we look at things. When I left here we were the one in front so the mentality has shifted and we have to chase them down.

“It starts with all the other games, it doesn’t start with games against them. We have to get closer. The most important thing is we reconnect with our fans in terms of how we play. That’s really important.”

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