THE corner has been turned in a season of discontent for Rangers - now look out Hearts and Hibs.

The capital clubs are still out in front of the reigning SPL champions, but not for much longer as I reckon Alex McLeish and his men now have second place in their sights.

However, I'm sure even the most ardent Rangers fan - and probably those within the corridors of power at Ibrox - recognise their title chance has gone.

Celtic will win the league this season but I'm backing Rangers to finish runners-up and book that vital spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

Rangers are back to winning ways after victories against Kilmarnock and Hearts, but the turning point of their season undoubtedly came the night they played Inter Milan at Ibrox.

Not only did Rangers draw 1-1, but within a minute of the final whistle the result came through from Bratislava that confirmed their qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Alex and his team deserve credit for the way they stood up to the pressure and delivered the result when they needed it most.

Now they face Villarreal in the next round and although there is no room for unfounded optimism, the Spaniards are still the club you would have hand-picked to meet at this stage.

The draw has given the Ibrox men a chance to get through to the last eight and a couple of months to improve further as a team.

If Rangers had been paired against Villarreal in recent months they would have struggled, but the tie may just come at the right time for Alex.

The sides don't meet until the end of February but I sense Rangers may just have run into a bit of form by then.

In the last week they have beaten a decent Kilmarnock side and high-flying Hearts. And big players such as Nacho Novo and Dado Prso are on the way back, not to mention the arrival of reinforcements in the January transfer window.

Europe aside,the big target for Rangers in the months ahead is second spot in the league and it is well within their reach,particularly if they win their games over the festive period.

There looks to be a bit of spirit in the squad again, helped by their feeling of achievement in Europe.

I'm pleased for Alex, whowas put through far too muchby David Murray - it was unfair to say hewouldre-visit his manager's results after only four or five weeks.The players take some credit for backing their managerand I sense they now have the determination to go the course and finish second It is a great target after apoortwo months in which they went10games without a victory and I'm sure they'll all look backon Novemberwhen the season endsandwonderwhere it all wentwrong.

Hibs will concede nothing and showed in snatching three points against Motherwell they have the hunger and desire to revel in the chase.

So do Hearts, but it will be interesting to see how the capital rivals cope now Rangers have recovered from their poor spell to play catch-up.

The current fortunes of Hearts prove the fickle nature of football as they come in for criticism from their fans for the first time this season.

The Tynecastle side made a magnificent start to the campaign, dropping points in only one of their opening 10 games, but have won only one of their last five. Nothing would have been said about the position they are in now had they dropped a few more points early on, but that's football.

If you go on a great run at the start of the season and then slip up the fans are disappointed, but start poorly and finish well and they are delighted.

It's natural the fans are upset.The team's gone off the boil recently because the standards the players have set this term have been so high.

But there are too many good players at Tynecastle for them not to have a good run again.

However, the defeat against Rangers represented one half of a massive festive test, with Celtic set to visit Tynecastle on Ne'erday.

If Celtic win that one they will pull further and further away from the chasing pack on their way to a first title under Gordon Strachan.

But I'm backing Rangers to continue their recent revival and finish best of the rest

Taken from the Daily Record