Kris Boyd issues 'Celtic out before Rangers' reminder as Ibrox icon makes 'real pressure' claim

Kris Boyd believes that Rangers can still salvage their season after insisting that the current situation at Ibrox is not as bad as fans are making it out to be.

Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has come under intense pressure with some bookmakers already offering odds on his likely replacements following a disastrous Champions League campaign combined with a string of poor domestic performances.

However, striker-turned-pundit Boyd was keen to point out that his former club, for all their troubles, remain just four points behind Celtic in the cinch Premiership title race, and outlasted their rivals in the Europe's elite competition, albeit by just one week.

He also insisted that the "real pressure" for the Glasgow rivals will come after the World Cup when the domestic campaign resumes following a month-long break.

Kris Boyd insists Rangers still have plenty to play for this season. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

"It's a difficult situation to pinpoint right now because it's a strange season anyway with the World Cup coming up but I don't think we can sit here in November and say that four or five months down the line Gio may lose his job because as it stands, Rangers are still in the hunt for the league title, they're in the semi-final of the league cup and the Scottish Cup hasn't even started yet," Boyd told Online Betting Guide OLBG.

"It's imperative that Rangers get nine points from the next three games and then once everyone is back in December is when we'll see the real pressure.

"A lot of people forget that, despite it being a bad European campaign for Rangers, Celtic were out of the competition before them.

"Rangers have obviously endured a lot of heavy defeats in the Champions League and also that heavy defeat at Celtic Park a few months ago. There will always be negativity when you lose a game of football to Celtic.

"When you look at Rangers domestically, yes they're four points behind Celtic and it was a disappointing result against Livingston, but Rangers have always been able to bounce back from the disappointment of Europe, they've still found a way to win games of football but there's no doubt that performances are going to have to improve if Rangers are going to mount a title challenge.

"If you're in charge of a big football club then you're always going to be under pressure to get results and there's no hiding place from the fact that the performances haven't been up to the standard that fans expect - that's where the frustration is coming from.

The next phase of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers career is crucial because there are no distractions now in terms of Europe. Domestic results are all that matter so Rangers are going to have to start winning games of football and playing in a manner that the fans are happy with."