BARRON'S STORMING NOW

Connor reckons rampant Rangers still face plenty of hard work but knows belief has returned to side

- BY ANDY NEWPORT

CONNOR BARRON isn't stupid - the Rangers midfielder knew exactly how bad it looked for his team as they stumbled out of the this season's starting blocks.

But he's also not silly enough to think the Gers can slack off now they've got themselves back in among the Premiership pacesetters.

A title race that looked to be beyond the Ibrox side is now within reach after Saturday's stunning Old Firm victory over Celtic at Parkhead.

The arrival of Danny Rohl (left) back in October has turned around Rangers' failing fortunes, with the German whipping the stuttering mess he inherited from the axed Russell Martin into shape.

But there's still plenty of hard yards for the Gers players to cover.

The Light Blues have wiped out an eight-point deficit on Celtic and now trail table-toppers Hearts by just six points, having previously sat 12 adrift of Derek McInnes' surprise Gorgie package.

They can trim another three off that by beating Barron's former side Aberdeen - now managerless after Jimmy Thelin's sacking yesterday following a five-game winless run at home tomorrow night, albeit having played a game more.

Barron doesn't buy into the old line managers peddle about not looking at the league table until crunch time in May.

But he's also not going to spend much time wondering what will happen at the end of the season when there's still work to be done right now.