Rangers: Last term's title race a 'reality check', says Alastair Johnston
- Published
Nikola Katic's header gave Rangers victory at Celtic Park on Sunday
Rangers are better prepared to end Celtic's Scottish Premiership dominance after last season's title race "reality check", says Ibrox director and former chairman Alastair Johnston.
Steven Gerrard's side beat Celtic in the last game of 2018 - a feat they repeated in 2019 with Sunday's win - to go level on points at the top.
But they fell away after the winter break and ended nine points behind.
"We are better positioned than we have been for a long time," Johnston said.
"Steven and the new team had to have time to bed in. I said Steven was going to be a better manager in the second year of his tenure. This year was the one, certainly from the board's standpoint, that we have invested for.
"Last year was certainly disappointing because we did feel that we were in reach at the turn of the year, after the victory at Ibrox, but then there was a reality check.
"But I do think there is the sense that the mistakes that we made last year after the winter break - let's hope that we have learned from that experience. The last couple of months have given us aspiration that in the second half of the season we can end up winning something."
Rangers will resume their title bid on 22 January two points behind Celtic with a game in hand after their first victory at Parkhead in nine years.
And Johnston, who served as Ibrox chairman from 2009 to 2011 and returned as director in June 2017, believes that 2-1 triumph has confirmed the belief coursing through the club as they attempt to deny Celtic a ninth successive title.
"Sunday was important for the fans," the 71-year-old said. "It is always important to keep their enthusiasm going and that was terrific.
"Psychologically, not just the victory on Sunday but the performance three weeks ago (Betfred Cup final defeat by Celtic), if you put those things together there is a sense of self-belief in the entire club, that we are back."
Meanwhile, Rangers have announced they will face Uzbekistani Super League champions Lokomotiv Tashkent in a friendly on Saturday, 11 January as part of their warm-weather training camp in Dubai.