'European performances have surely helped keep Clement in a job'

If you had informed the Rangers support at the start of the season that by the mid-November international break they would be nine points behind Aberdeen, not only would not a single one of them have believed you, but they would have rightly been seething at the very thought.

There is little doubt they have been third best so far this campaign, saving their best performances for the European stage as they did again last week, performing well to earn a valuable away point against Olympiakos before turning in a turgid display in securing victory over Hearts.

The European performances and results have surely helped keep Philippe Clement in a job, though clearly there is also a desire in the boardroom to instil a measure of stability rather than go through the expensive and difficult process of sacking and appointing managers on an annual basis.

Clement must find a way of replicating the impressive European form on the domestic stage and try to eat into the nine-point lead of Celtic and Aberdeen between now and the turn of the year. That will be easier said than done, with neither of the league leaders looking like dropping points.

The return to form of Nico Raskin has been one positive for the manager of late. The Belgian is looking more like the player we saw when he first arrived at Ibrox and with Vaclav Cerny providing a more consistent attacking threat in recent times, there are chinks of light amid the storm clouds for Clement and the beleaguered Rangers fanbase.

The bold decision from Clement to replace James Tavernier with Dujon Sterling in Athens was one I said last week felt necessary. And though Tavernier returned to the starting XI against Hearts, Sterling or even Neraysho Kasanwirjo probably deserve a run in the team. Kasanwirjo would arguably be a better option than Robin Propper at centre-back if Leon Balogun cannot play every game.

Rangers have seven league games left in 2024. All are winnable and realistically have to be won if they are to stand any chance of mounting a comeback in the title race. Of course interspersed in that run are Europa League games against Nice and Tottenham, off the back of which they play Celtic in the League Cup final.

So it is another arduous yet exciting period before Rangers play Celtic at Ibrox in the new year. They simply cannot afford to be further behind the champions before then, but domestic performances have to get better for that to be the case.