We are closing gap on Celtic says Rangers boss Steven Gerrard

Goals from James Tavernier and Scott Arfield sealed the win for Gerrard’s side and the former Liverpool midfielder says consistency is what is needed next season.

“We should take a lot of belief and confidence from this performance and this result.

“If you analyse the four derby games, I think we’ve been more than a match.

“That hasn’t been where we’ve fallen short – we drew too many games elsewhere and there’s been one or two really disappointing defeats in there as well.

“It’s a huge challenge nevertheless – just because we’ve won well here today doesn’t make it any easier for next year.

“Celtic are not going to go away – they’re going to improve, they’re still the target for us, to knock them off their perch. We’re very respectful of the opposition – but I think at our best we’ve shown that we can compete and beat them. We’ve just got to show that we can do it over a longer period of time and that’s a bigger challenge.”

Gerrard reflected on the players he inherited and how his squad has evolved over the course of the season.

“I think they have improved and are passing the ball better and they understand how we want it to look in and out of possession - and we have added some quality players to them and that quality is in good form.

“Jermain Defoe. Steven Davis and Glen Kamara have been excellent – we have added quality so we are a better team now and we will keep improving.”