Rangers’ next two games are season-defining, says Andy Halliday

ANDY HALLIDAY has been through plenty of ups and downs during his time with Rangers.

So the 27-year-old is thrilled that victory over Hearts next Sunday would send the Ibrox men to the top of the Premiership.

He would love that to happen but has warned his team-mates they have to improve on yesterday’s performance against Livingston.

He said: “We knew a win would set us up for a chance to go top of the league with a win against Hearts next weekend.

“It’s a refreshing scenario to have the chance of going top compared to the positions we’ve been in the league over the couple of years that I’ve been here.

“It’s testament to the growth of the squad over this season.

“The next two games could pretty much define how our season ends up.

“We also have a chance, more than a year after getting knocked out by Progres Niederkorn, to advance to the knock-out stages of the Europa League.

“That’s probably beyond most people’s expectations.”

Rangers play Villarreal at home in the Europa League on Thursday, then go to Tynecastle for a midday kick-off on Sunday.

Celtic aren’t in league action next weekend as they play Aberdeen in the League Cup final.

Halliday went on: “We probably won’t get away with playing like we did today. We know we have to be better in the next two games.

“We went to Livingston eight weeks ago, didn’t play our best and lost the game. It’s refreshing that we’ve managed to turn it round this time.

“I didn’t feel we were at our best. In fact, I thought we were pretty poor in the second half but we ended up with a comfortable victory and that’s what we wanted.

“I’m pleased we managed to win a game ugly because we haven’t always done that.

“If you want to be in a title race and win medals, you have to win these type of games.

“It’s a mentality we’ve tried to drill in since the start of the season.

“It’s going to be a hard, long campaign but you have to be consistent.”