Andy Walker has made a 'tall order' claim over Rangers' chances of chasing Celtic down in the title race.
Michael Beale is set for his competitive bow as the Light Blues boss following his appointment after the sacking of Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Supporters got a glimpse of life in the new regime with a very comfortable 3-0 friendly success over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday but the real action is back and it is a vital game for the home side.
Lee Johnson's Hibs side arrive on a poor run of form pre-World Cup and they will be keen to upset the big occasion in Govan on Thursday night and get their own season back up and firing. Walker believes Rangers have to get the gap down to six ahead of Celtic's trip to Pittodrie but thinks catching them is a tough task. He also stated his interest in whether the new man will be able to get the best out of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos - with both players heading out of contract and able to discuss pre-contract moves to other interest clubs from January 1.
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Walker told Sky Sports News: "The position is a difficult one. Rangers are nine points behind Celtic and I do expect Michael Beale to give the whole squad a new manager bounce. It will be interesting to see what kind of form he can get out of Ryan Kent, someone he has known since he was a 14-year-old boy when he was at Liverpool. It will be interesting to see what he can get out of Alfredo Morelos.
'His attitude has been lacking at times, and he wasn't fit for the start of the season when Rangers had a number of big games and Antonio Colak is the number one there at the moment. It will be interesting to see if Michael Beale can get any sort of a tune to challenge the number one striker there."
Pressed on if Beale could close the gap on Celtic, Walker added: "Well, he can close the gap to six before Celtic play at Pittodrie on Saturday. I think that is what they have to do. You heard Michael Beale in the media when he said he wanted to chase Celtic down.
"I think that is going to be a tall order. Celtic are in good form and have a lot of options for players in all positions."
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