Charlie Mulgrew insists the biggest test of Rangers ’ bottle has yet to come and that the Premiership title race is NOT over.
The former Celtic defender saw his old side slip 19 points behind their rivals after Saturday’s Old Firm defeat at Ibrox.
For most punters that spelled the end of the Parkhead club’s 10 in a row hopes with Rangers on course for a first title in a decade.
But Mulgrew isn’t so sure.
He reckons Steven Gerrard ’s side could yet wilt under the pressure of getting over the line allowing his old boss Neil Lennon to pull off a 10-in-a-row miracle.
Mulgrew played a part in the first five titles on the run to nine-in-a-row. And although Steven Davis and Allan McGregor have both tasted title success with Gers he reckons the lack of winners throughout the Ibrox side could be the difference.
“I’m still quite optimistic,” Mulgrew told former Hoops teammate Mark Wilson on the Celtic Huddle podcast.
"If Celtic can go on a run and Rangers slip up a few times .. none of them have won anything in that team.
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"Rangers have not won anything and I don't know if they will be able to sustain that.
"When you're getting chased - no matter how many points ahead - if you lose one you start to double guess yourself a wee bit and the pressure mounts.
"It's going to be hard. Celtic need a run of wins and hopefully Rangers slip up a couple of times and we'll see where Rangers' bottle is then."
The pressure has ramped up on Neil Lenon on the back of a turbulent season but Mulgrew reckons it would be daft to change manager mid season.
He added: “Who is wanting to jump in and take a job at this time? Who is available? Who is going to do better than Neil Lennon goes?
"I think it would be daft to get rid of him now. I think they need to stick by him until the end of the season and get right behind him and let him make some signings in January and try and get them over the line because it's going to be difficult now.
"At the end of the day, they are quadruple Treble winners.
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"In years to come we're going to look back and say that's unbelievable, and this team is getting stick.
"Everybody wanted ten-in-a-row and I'm still optimistic and think there's a chance of that.
“But we're talking about a team that has won a quadruple Treble and Lennon played a big part in that.
"When nobody else stepped in, Lennon stepped in and got them over the line with the treble Treble and then he got them the quadruple Treble.”