Rangers' strength is built from the back

THERE is consistent, and then there is Rangers this season. Even their Champions League campaign was impressively uniform – three comprehensive defeats at Ibrox, together with some closer-run things away from home.

But in the domestic game, Walter Smith's side have been remorseless. Three 0-0 draws in their opening six league matches did not lead to wild excitement in the stands, but set the tone for a campaign which has been built so far on defensive solidity. They have now recorded six clean sheets in their last seven outings.

Sunday's 1-0 victory over Celtic was a study in giving little away. They have conceded only eight goals in the league at home, and one fewer on their travels. How can Celtic even begin to contemplate eating away at a ten-point lead when the team at the top seem so resolute? The pursuers require a collapse on the part of Rangers. Sunday showed why this seems an even more fanciful notion than Celtic's claims of bias against their team this season.

Though Rangers' season has been ignited by spells when they have excelled in front of goal, it is at the back where the champions have taken command of the league. Their strength in this department has told in clashes with Celtic – just as it did last season.

Scott Brown's red card dominated the post-match discussions at Ibrox and obscured the central reason why Celtic were beaten. They did not do enough to win the match. Two shots on target – compared with 11 for Rangers – tells its own story, as does Celtic's tally of just two goals in three Old Firm fixtures this season. Madjid Bougherra was an influential performer on Sunday but was playing in his first Old Firm match of the campaign. His partner at centre-half, David Weir, has featured in all three and, on Sunday, in his 40th year, played his 36th club match of the season.

There are not too many further places to look to understand where it has gone right for Rangers this season. On Sunday, against an admittedly far-from-fit Robbie Keane, Weir staged another masterclass in defending by employing one's wits. He was rarely extended and showed exactly why Smith was prompted to offer the defender another year's contract last year.

Remarkably, whether or not he will be playing for Rangers next season seems to depend more on his own desire to continue travelling back and forth from his home in Cheshire. The Ibrox club, surely, will wish to retain his services. Weir, however, may wish to bow out on a high. It is not beyond the realms to imagine the player calling a halt to his career while captain of a treble-winning side, and reigning player of the year to boot. Intriguingly, the football writers' dinner in May, when their award is announced, takes place on the eve of Weir's 40th birthday.

Even watching the centre-half warm-up on Sunday was instructive. Kenny McDowall, the first-team coach, tossed balls into the air for him, and the disgust with which Weir reacted following a less-than-firm connection signalled a man not content to simply trade on former glories. During the game itself Weir was involved in one comical moment in the Celtic box when, with the ball having surprisingly fallen at his feet, he swung one leg at it and missed. He then tripped over the ball with his other leg. But, although Celtic broke up-field from this moment of high farce, it was still Weir who somehow made it back to mop up.

It was an inspirational performance from Weir, and while the likes of Allan McGregor, Keane and even referee Dougie McDonald stole the spotlight, it was the veteran defender who kept his head yet again. Even Smith showed he can get carried away after the winner from Maurice Edu with almost the last kick of the ball. Weir, at the end, took time to shake the hand of each Celtic opponent, despite the delirium of just a few moments earlier.

Off the field as well as on it, Weir is influential. Steven Naismith has spoken of the skipper's banning of the word "treble" in and around the dressing room. Rangers are reaping the dividend of having this father figure on the pitch. It is in direct contrast with Celtic. A few weeks ago at St Johnstone, Celtic manager Tony Mowbray even wrapped a captain's band around Darren O'Dea's arm. The player had only just returned from a period in stir at Reading. Now Scott Brown is the leader of the gang.

However harsh Brown's red card on Sunday, and in this observer's eyes it did appear a severe reaction from the referee, there is an upward movement of the Celtic midfielder's head into Kyle Lafferty's body as they tussle. It doesn't do for a skipper to be so lacking in judgment in a game that his side must win. It is fair to assume that Celtic's title challenge ended with his departure from the field. The cheering Rangers supporters sensed it too. The manner of their side's victory was an extra psychological blow for Celtic, who were edging ever closer to shutting out Rangers for the first time this season.

It would have been a small "victory", particularly since a 0-0 draw would only have maintained the status quo. Mowbray conceded later that the title can only be lost now by Rangers. It is hard to credit that a team whose progress during this campaign has been pinned to resoluteness will begin throwing things away now.