Danny Rohl’s team can close the gap on league leaders Hearts to six points if they come out on top at Tynecastle on Sunday
11:50, 16 Dec 2025Updated 19:35, 16 Dec 2025
Danny Rohl(Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock)
Back amid the swearing and the shouting that soundtracked Russell Martin’s chaotic, short-lived Ibrox reign it would have been, well, frankly ridiculous to even let the merest suggestion that Rangers might play a part in the title race cross your lips.
But whisper it, the Light Blues under Danny Rohl have a real opportunity to insert themselves into the championship conversation. Monday night’s win over Hibernian means its now six wins and two draws for the German gaffer in the league.
It’s pushed his side up to third, nine points behind leaders Hearts. But should they maintain that unbeaten start with another victory against Derek McInnes’ table-toppers this Sunday and move within six of the Jambos with a game in hand, then Gers’ title talk will no longer be spoken of in hushed tones.
In fact, if they can topple the Tynecastle men in Gorgie, you’ll be able to hear that bold declaration of intent echoing across the famous capital skyline and beyond. But as Danny Rohl said himself after Gers’ edgy 1-0 win over David Gray’s Leith outfit on Monday night, the important word there is ‘if’.
Because as the Rangers fans have discovered for themselves this season, there are few guarantees with this Light Blues line-up. Rohl has presided over five Premiership clean sheets since his October arrival and yet the angst-ridden Ibrox faithful were still left holding their breath late on as their shaky side clung desperately for the victory.
Rangers’ Connor Barron (R) with Head Coach Danny Rohl vs Hibs(Image: SNS Group)
And yet again, it was a display that neither entertained nor convinced. Passes continually went astray, tackles were missed, chances were wasted as regular invitations were handed to Hibs to attack.
Had the Easter Road side not continued their run of feeble showings against Rangers this season, then Rohl’s loss-free run might have come under serious threat. But for all the worrying signs that continue to dog the Ibrox team, it’s a new streak of dogged resistance that has allowed them to inch themselves back towards the frontrunners.
Rangers may not have won any beauty prizes but they deserve credit for the bravery they showed as Hibs applied pressure. Of course, having imploded themselves at the start of the season, Rangers are now being offered encouragement themselves by the sight of Celtic’s very own self-inflicted meltdown.
A sudden outbreak of schadenfreude swept through the Ibrox support after Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final defeat to St Mirren as they watched Wilfried Nancy offer up, almost word for word, the same kind of flimsy excuses that once drove the Gers punters so crazy that Martin needed a police escort just to get out of town safely before his own demise.
With the Hoops now assuming the crisis club mantle, the chance is on for Gers to emerge as Hearts’ main challengers, if only they can keep their own house in order.
And the hope will be that a victory this weekend might spark another round of nervous introspection along the M8, repeating the nightmare November that saw McInnes’ team almost blow their eight-point lead before last weekend’s remarkable recovery effort at Celtic Park.
Rohl isn’t about to start shouting that from the rooftops. But he is quietly confident about the direction his team is heading in.
Speaking after that narrow Hibs win, he said: “I’m very proud of the group, the outcome is results, and I’m still not every time happy with them, but I see at the moment a group who is running for each other, speaking to each other, blocking shots.
Emmanuel Fernandez of Rangers celebrates (Image: Getty Images)
“Sometimes we make mistakes, but the basics are right at the moment, and if you do the basics right, then I feel we have quality in areas to win games.
“At the moment where we have six wins from the last eight games, it’s not because we play tiki-taka, it’s about effort, effort, effort, and for this we have to stay, especially now, not more.”
The return of Dujon Sterling will certainly help give Gers a more resolute feel. The defender made his first start on Thursday after eight months out and showed no sign of hesitancy or concern for the achilles he reputed as he flung himself into a string of robust challenges.
“I’m very happy for Dujon,” added Rohl. “I think the last couple of weeks he was sometimes a little bit angry about me because I pulled him back.
“But he understands. He’s a defender, he has good interceptions, he feels where the danger is, I think that helps massively.
“We played very solid in the last line. We still have parts to improve, I know this, we are not fluid enough in ball possession but if I see a team that puts effort in, has clean sheets and then scores, then I’m more than happy at the moment.”
You couldn’t always say the same for the home support, whose groans of frustration played on repeat as they watched their side continually gift away possession.
Managing the crowd’s expectation levels will need to be as big a priority for Rohl’s side as it is handling opposition in weeks to come, especially if they close the gap on Hearts. But Rohl said: “Honestly, my feeling on Monday was more positive.
“I felt that supporters had a little bit more patience. I think this is important, I think if we can put our effort in, I think then we create this energy in the stadium, and I think this should be the goal.
“We have a stadium with 50,000, we have a group on the pitch so we want opponents to come here and feel the pressure.
“We have to reduce our pressure from our own players, we have to enjoy playing at home, and if we do this, then we make the next step.”
If Rohl’s side can take the next step in Edinburgh this week, then maybe the Rangers support will really have something to shout about…