Highlights

• Rangers have gone winless in three games in the Scottish Premiership, leaving their title hopes dwindling.
• Their experienced players have been criticised for boasting a lack of winning mentality under pressure from Celtic.
• Rangers must win their upcoming matches and will likely have to rely on other results - unless they massively better their goal difference - if they are to challenge Celtic for the title.

Rangers' 0-0 draw away at Dundee on Wednesday night means it is now three games in a row without a win in the Scottish Premiership for the Light Blues - and with their title hopes fading fast to rivals Celtic, their more experienced stars have been slammed for not being able to handle the pressure.

A 3-3 draw to the Hoops at Ibrox earlier in the month saw Rangers miss a golden opportunity to rob their bitter enemies of the chance to have the title in their own hands, but that result wasn't seen as the end of the world with seven games to go. However, the last week has seen Rangers lose at Ross County for the first time in their history and drop points on Tayside, putting Celtic three points ahead in the title race with just five games to go in the season.

They can draw level with the Hoops with a win at Celtic Park in early May, but they will need a six-goal swing on goal difference in the two games preceding that - and that is presuming both teams win their next two games in the league. And with their lack of wins clearly showing a struggle at Ibrox, pundit Rory Loy has claimed that the Gers' old guard don't have the mentality to overcome pressurised situations, which has seen them slip further and further away from Celtic.

Loy: "Rangers Don't React Well to Pressure"

Rangers have not been at their best in the last two weeks

Speaking to BBC Sportsound, Loy took aim at Rangers' current experienced stars James Tavernier, John Lundstram, and Connor Goldson, who earn a combined £89k-a-week at Ibrox, for their lack of bottle when it comes to the end of the season. He said:

“I’ve said it throughout, before the show, during the game, (it’s) pressure. I don’t think that they have dealt well with the pressure.

“I think some of their stalwarts, Tavernier, Goldson, Lundstram, they’ve been in this position before and anytime that bit of pressure is applied they don’t seem to react well to it.

“They can’t seem to handle it all that well. They did one season of course, when Celtic capitulated and were not anywhere close to them.

“But when it comes to this time of the season, where it’s just after the winter break or closer to the end of the season, they don’t seem to be able to handle it very well.”

Rangers have been down this road before; the 2019-20 season saw the club go within two points of Celtic at the turn of the new year with a win at Parkhead; but by the time the league was curtailed thanks to Covid-19, Rangers had won just four of their previous nine games and had slipped to 13 points behind with a game in hand.

Rangers Can Still Win the Scottish Premiership

The Gers will likely have to rely on results from elsewhere

Rangers playing their game in hand in the draw at Dundee now means that there are five games left in the season for the club to salvage the league title from Celtic's grasp.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Rangers last won an Old Firm derby at Celtic Park in October 2020, where they went on to enjoy an invincible season in the top flight.

The duo will face off on May 11, though Rangers have St Mirren away and Kilmarnock at home in that time, whilst Celtic will endure a trip to Dundee before welcoming Hearts to the east end of Glasgow.

Currently three points behind, Rangers could wave goodbye to the league title on rival soil if they drop points before the trip to Parkhead, providing Celtic take full points from their clashes and then beat Rangers.

Philippe Clement will be disappointed with the way his April has turned out, though the race is by no means over - and all roads will point to a crunch clash in Glasgow.

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 18-04-24.