James Tavernier rage subsides as Rangers make progress - 'definitely changed since then'

Tavernier did not hold back after the 3-0 defeat by Brann on October 23, criticising his teammates for a lack of fight and basic performance standards in the Europa League humbling.

That rage has since subsided and been replaced with a feeling most associated with the Ibrox side have perhaps not felt for some time - optimism.

Since that nadir in Norway, Rangers have shown steady signs of progress under Rohl. While Europe has continued to present a problem, domestically they have won eight of their 11 matches under the German head coach up to and including the 2-1 victory over St Mirren on Tuesday.

Performances, perhaps, could still be better. But points have been won to the extent that Rangers have the best record in the league since Rohl took over.

A title that seemed well beyond them at one stage is now very much in the equation, particularly were they to claim a victory at Celtic Park on Saturday that would take them level on 38 points with their bitter rivals in second place, and remain, at worst, six behind leaders Hearts, who host Livingston.

"It was down to us as players, the way we applied ourselves as a team and as individuals. That’s what I was most angry about," said Tavernier, reflecting on his post-match comments in Bergen.

"But that’s definitely changed since then, the boys have really stepped up. It was still early days back then but the boys have really taken what the manager wants on board.

"We’re getting better. The majority of the signings are better and I’m much more happy than I was previously this season. We’ve had a lot of time on the training pitch with the manager and we’ve adapted to different styles of how we want to play.

“I feel like we’re getting better as a team and learning more from what we’ve done in the past. The lads are really taking in what he wants and I do think we’re getting better."

The acid test for Rangers, as ever, will come in the derby.

Celtic have embarked on a downward spiral under their own recently-appointed head coach, losing five of seven matches since the appointment of Wilfried Nancy.

Rangers will surely fancy their chances at Parkhead but - with a defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle a fortnight ago fresh in the mind - Tavernier cautions against getting carried away.

“We can only concentrate on ourselves," he said. "I’ve played there in the past at times when we’ve done well and put the crowd against them.

“That’s because of how we’ve played so it’ll be about how we start the game on Saturday from the first whistle. We have to get better as a team. We know we’re not perfect but we’re training really hard to get the performance we want.

“We have to keep our consistency high, we can’t afford to drop standards. The Hearts one was disappointing for us because we believe we could have done a lot better. We can’t let those performances creep in, we have to be solid until the end of the season."