Rangers Make Best Start to a Season in Over 50 Years as Steven Gerrard's Men Open 11-Point Gap on Celtic

If you'd asked any Scottish football fan whether Celtic could be stopped in their relentless quest to become the first team to win ten consecutive league titles only a couple of years ago, they'd have taken a heavy swig from their pint glass, and ruefully shaken their heads.

What no one could have expected back then was the emergence of a certain Steven Gerrard as the greatest football manager in the history of the sport. A minor exaggeration? Perhaps. But with the Hoops one leg away from the magic ten, it looks as if it could all come tumbling down at the final hurdle.

Let's be clear, though. Celtic's poor start would mean nothing if there wasn't a miracle worker to take advantage of it. Step forward, Stevie G! Rangers are absolutely flying, there are no two ways about it. The Glaswegian rivals could not have made a better start to the new campaign, and in fact, 53 years have passed since they last flew out of the traps this menacingly.

The statistics which accompany their 41 points from a possible 45 are staggering. The Gers have conceded only three goals in 15 matches, and have not been breached in the last 500 minutes of action. In those games, the table toppers have hit a whopping 41 goals - that's an average of 2.73 conversions per game - taking their goal difference to a stunning 38.

Draws with Livingston and Hibernian remain the only blotches on Gerrard's copybook, and with Celtic and Neil Lennon in dire straights, they've worked hard to build an intimidating lead at Scotland's peak.

Their latest outing produced a now-routine 4-0 victory over Aberdeen, the team currently sat third in the table. Celtic would have been hoping for the side located one place below them to do them a favour on Sunday, but instead they've been shaken to the core.

There are goals flowing through this team, with James Tavernier leading the scoring charts with ten, while Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos follow up with six and five respectively. So, chances aren't exactly hard to come by, and when the goals are raining down so easily, it's difficult to keep your feet on the ground.

Rangers fans will be urging each other not to get carried away. We've not even reached December, and we've all been here before. Celtic are blessed with that winning mentality, and if the current leaders show even a hint of weakness, their rivals will smell blood – and yeah, the gap will be down to 'just' five points if Celtic win their games in hand.

It's time for calm heads, brave hearts and ice cold blood. Whisper it quietly, but this could be Rangers' year.