Burke knows Old Firm victory will be league necessity

Chris Burke last night stressed Rangers must use the next Old Firm derby as a catalyst to kick-start their faltering Clydesdale Bank Premier League challenge.

The winger made his first appearance in seven months as a substitute in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle. The result leaves Walter Smith's side seven points behind Celtic, who extended their domestic winning streak to 12 games with victory against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Rangers, by contrast, have lost 10 points away from home this season and Burke admits the form of the defending champions means the challengers cannot expect favours from elsewhere.

Gordon Strachan's side travel to Ibrox on December 27 eager to atone for the 4-2 defeat at Parkhead and while Burke believes Rangers will sustain a challenge, he admits there is no further margin for error.

"It will go right to the wire," he said. "We are both out of Europe so the main focus is the championship. We have three Old Firm games and have to be positive about it. The next one will be like a six-pointer but the pressure is on us to win every match.

"Hopefully Celtic will slip up but it is really down to us to make that happen. We can still win the title but we cannot rely on anyone else. We need to rectify the situation ourselves.

"We have been disappointing away from home and have lost too many points. If we are going to win the title back that has to change. It is down to our own performances. We did not perform on Saturday and that is the bottom line."

Burke's reappearance was one of few highlights for Rangers on Saturday. He snapped his ankle ligaments in the Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone last season and his return gave Rangers some much-needed impetus. Kyle Lafferty's woes continued with another anonymous display but Burke defended the capabilities of the £3.4m signing from Burnley and spoke of the importance of mental toughness as well as talent.

"Kyle is only 21 and will get better," he said. "It is not just about talent at Rangers, you have to be mentally strong as well. You have to be able to cope with the pressure of winning titles. Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona all have the same pressures."

Taken from the Herald