Walter Smith refuses to place emphasis on Rangers' points advantage over Celtic

The Ibrox outfit sit nine points clear of Tony Mowbray's side who have a game in hand.

The gap increased at the weekend when Rangers battled to 1 - 0 victory over Hamilton while Celtic drew 1 - 1 with bottom club Falkirk at Parkhead.

Smith says he is refusing to read too much into the points difference, pointing out that his side trailed Celtic by seven points at the same stage in the championship race last year before going on to lift the flag.

"I don't think we are that far out in front in the league," he said.

"It's a good headline to say you are nine points in front but Celtic still have a game in hand so we would look at it as being six points in front.

"At this stage last season, Celtic were seven points in front of us so it doesn't mean much at this stage of the season.

"We have each other to play on two occasions, never mind the rest of the games. It's nice to be in that position but I don't think it means a great deal at this stage of the season."

The Rangers boss said his players deserved credit for their collective performance this year.

He added: "Our players deserve a great deal of credit for the way they have handled the season.

"It's not easy when you're involved in Champions League games and you're not doing well, it's not easy to keep a level of consistency going.

"In December, we played exceptionally well but, unfortunately, we have had a whole list of injuries and suspensions and that has disrupted us a little, I don't think there is any doubt about that.

"Since the turn of the year, we haven't played in the manner that we did in December.

"There has been a bit of inconsistency in our team right from the very start of the season in terms of performance so any lead that we have in the championship at the moment is welcome.

"But it's welcome in the knowledge that we still have an awful lot to do this season."