There have been some positive signs from Rangers’ last three games.
But nobody is getting ahead of themselves with a recognition that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Some players – like Connor Barron, Nicolas Raskin and Vaclav Cerny – have come out of that run of matches with a lot of credit.
There are others around whom question marks still remain.
The main thing is that the team has been getting results while still not at their best and the hope will be performances and more convincing scorelines follow.
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We already told how pundits Alan Hutton and Michael Stewart disagreed on elements of the Rangers performance vs Hearts.
Hutton thought the team played ‘very well’ in the first half while Stewart thought that was an exaggeration and Hearts were the better side for most of the game.
One thing they do agree on though is the levels of Nedim Bajrami when playing out wide.
Stewart has criticised the Albanian and says he doesn’t play with any intensity with games passing him by.
He told the Premier Sports Scottish Football Social Club: “I look at the way Rangers play and they don’t play with the same intensity that Celtic, or even Aberdeen, do.
“It’s not just confidence, it’s types of players.
“Bajrami is not a player who has got the intensity in his game, he just doesn’t have it.
“You could see it with Cerny, and he is getting better and he’s impressive, but you could see he had something.
“Bajrami is a good technical player but the game drifts by him.”
Hutton is on the same page to a point but feels Bajrami is being played out of position and would like to see him play as a number 10.
That in turn could free up Mohamed Diomande to play in a more natural role, he says.
He replied: “I get what Michael is saying, it does pass him by. I think when he’s wide it’s allowed to happen because he’s not that guy who’s going to really get on it and make something happen.
“I’d like to see him in the number 10. You’ve got Diomande in there, I don’t think that’s his position. You’ve got a midfielder that’s going to get about and work hard in a creative role.”
What was said on Rangers performance vs Hearts
The former Rangers right-back had a more positive outlook than his pal and was actually impressed by the first-half, which he insists was played at a good tempo.
He said: “I wouldn’t go as far to say comfortable. I thought in the first half they actually played really well. They played with a tempo, I thought they moved the ball quickly in the first half.
“I just felt it changed in the second half. If Vargas puts it (chance that hit the post) in, it starts to became nervy because you could feel the nerves in the stadium.
“The Hearts team I thought started to feed off that so if they could’ve taken one of their chances it could’ve been a different game.
“Rangers just got through it. It’s another one of those games where you expect them to go and put there foot down, go and get two or three and have done with it.
“But they just don’t play that way at this moment in time. You always feel there’s a nervousness in the team and it’s really affecting them. Hearts played well second half, I thought Rangers did well first half.
“Three points is the main thing but the performance has to be better.”
While Hutton acknowledged there was a dip after the break, his felliw pundit still felt he was being too generous about the first 45.
He hit back: “I’d push back slightly on what Alan said about it being a good first-half performance, I’d say 15 minutes.
“From 15 minutes on, Hearts were the better side without really troubling Jack Butland.
“They were controlling the possession, they were moving about well, they were working it well into the final third, but the end product was poor.
“Rangers were passive and have been for so much of the season.
“They had to start quickly to get the support on board. And they did that, brilliant. But then it dissipated and it wasn’t there.
“15 minutes maximum but then it was ponderous, like it’s been before.”
