Rangers are back in the title race, but Rühl wants more

Rangers have made a ‘statement’ by moving to within three points of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts – but head coach Danny Ruhl says moving above Celtic into second is ‘still not what we want’.

The Ibrox side beat Aberdeen 2-0 at Ibrox to record their 10th win in 13 league matches since Ruhl took charge in October.

Rangers were 13 points behind the surprise league leaders at the time and were sixth in the division having won just once in eight matches.

Since then, though, only Hearts have beaten them in the Premier League, with the Glasgow side’s under-the-radar form propelling them into title contention with the season almost half over.

And while Ruhl was wary of making big statements about what his side may or may not do over the next 17 games – starting with the return clash with Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday – he refused to rule out just a second title in 15 years.

“I’m very proud of the group at the moment,” the former Sheffield Wednesday boss told BBC Sport Scotland.

“We cut the deficit to just three points from 13 when I arrived. It’s a statement but not what we want. We’re on a journey. It’s about the next game on Sunday.”

“When I took over as Sheffield Wednesday coach two years ago, the difference between us was 12 or 13 points. In the end, we survived. In football, anything is possible.”

“It’s about small steps, belief and regaining trust and confidence in the players. At the moment we are on a good path but we have a lot of things to do.”