Rangers chase 749-day first with help of the £36m factor as title mettle put to the test

The 1-1 draw at Falkirk on October 5 that proved the final nail in the coffin of the former Scotland defender's Ibrox tenure left Rangers eighth in the table, 11 points behind leaders Hearts and nine adrift of Celtic.

With most of their big summer signings written off, many considered the Govan side to be already out of the running for the championship after their worst start to a league campaign in 47 years. The bookmakers certainly thought so, pricing them at 11/1 to win the league. Those odds look very generous now as a revitalised Rangers under Danny Rohl look to seize the opportunity to move above Hearts into first place - for 24 hours at least - having made up the shortfall.

It is 749 days since Rangers were last able to look down on the rest of the Premiership. Philippe Clement steered them to the summit in February 2024 but a 2-1 home defeat by Motherwell in March allowed Celtic to reclaim top spot and there has been little for the Ibrox faithful to cheer since.

Could that be about to change? With seven league matches remaining, and just two left before the split, Rangers now sit two points above Celtic and three behind leaders Hearts. They host Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday knowing that a win will take them above the Tynecastle side on goal difference. All eyes would then be on how Hearts respond to losing their status as league leaders for the first time since September when they visit bottom of the table Livingston on Sunday, while Celtic would also need to respond with a win over a Dundee side who have proved a difficult opponent this season.

For Rangers, it is been an impressive turnaround from where they were four months ago. There can be no doubting that Rohl has done an admirable job in piecing together the wreckage left behind by Martin's calamatious short-lived reign. Players such Emmanuel Fernandez and Youssef Chermiti who were floundering have flourished under the German, while the majority of his January transfer recruits have brought a positive impact.

Investment factor driving Rangers’ renaissance

But there is one important factor that cannot be ignored in this Light Blue renaissance - and it involves 36 million pounds.

This is the eye-watering figure the Ibrox club has spent on transfer fees this season following last summer's takover by a US consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises. If any team is going to come back from an 11-point deficit to win the league, then it is one that significantly outspends its rivals.

By comparison, Hearts have splashed out £3m on transfer fees this season, while Celtic's outlay was around £13m, albeit from a stronger starting point as four-in-a-row champions having won 13 of the last 14 titles.

Spending money does not always guarantee success but it certainly helps and there should be no real surprise if Rangers do go on to win the league given the investment made. The stats show that Rangers are the form team over the past 10 games and if they do get their noses in front at any stage during the run-in then you would fancy them to stay there.

"When I arrived it was clear for me it's a long way to go, a lot of games to play," Rohl said during his pre-match press conference on Friday. "What I didn't know at this time was how quickly we can do it. For me it was the goal to go into the split with a distance where you can always win something. That was always in my mind.

"My mind was to win games, make it step by step. We have a good situation now, but we know as well, if you don't do your homework and you take not the wins, then it goes quick in the other direction. Then from three points it could be dropped to more points.

"It's about consistency and if you do this then you have a good situation at the minute. From this point you can really do everything. If we win seven games, we will win the league. It's a long way to go. Let's start tomorrow with the first one."

Mentality will be key. Whenever a chance has been presented to Rangers of late, they have failed to grasp it, the most recent example being the blowing of a 2-0 half-time lead against Celtic at Ibrox last month.

Failure to beat Dundee United on Saturday and put pressure on both Hearts and Celtic would be another huge opportunity spurned and raise further questions over Rangers' nerve.

Rohl is convinced his team have the mettle. “I think we are mentally strong," he insisted. "There is no doubt my group is strong, convinced, and we have the quality to win the league."

Playing first gives Rangers the chance to set down a marker. "Ask me tomorrow if it's nice [to play first]," Rohl said. "But no, of course, I think the last couple of weeks we had always the Sunday game and then you see the results and you see, was it a good result for you or not? But it's good when we can be first."

"We know at the end the importance is after the last matchday to be top," Rohl added. "It is nice to have this now, but even if we would be [top on Saturday], I would still speak from [the position of] we are the hunters. We want to hunt wins. We want to hunt our opponent. And with this mindset, we should go in the next seven games."