With the Old Firm in action on Wednesday, the Scottish Premiership table will have a familiar look if Rangers can make it four successive wins. The Ibrox outfit host St Mirren, while Celtic travel to Perth to take on St Johnstone. Derek McInnes' side appear to be finding their feet after dropping points in their opening two league outings and falling out of Europe.
Meanwhile, Celtic have a perfect domestic record, bouncing back from a Champions League qualifying trauma in Austria and adding an array of new faces at the end of the transfer window. The Glasgow rivals meet at Ibrox on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup, so how will they warm up for the first derby of the season? Rangers find themselves trailing third-placed St Mirren on goal difference, following a bright start from the Paisley side.
Head coach Craig McLeish has earned plaudits for implementing a more fluid style and he was named Premiership manager of the month for August. "I'm not surprised it's come together so quickly - I get that from the outside it might look like that," McLeish said. "There's an internal belief about what we're doing and the work we can do on the pitch.
It could have been even better and we were close to it being even better." However, the Buddies have already been to Ibrox this season and were soundly thrashed in the Premier Sports Cup. James Penrice enjoyed a lively Rangers debut that day, scoring one of five goals and setting up another. The left-back has started each game since, along with central defenders Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez.
While the latter is prone to the odd wobble, a settled defence has provided a platform for the recent upturn in results. Motherwell rarely threatened at Ibrox on Saturday as Rangers spurned several good opportunities to increase their lead. That result came after wins over Aberdeen and Falkirk.
McInnes says confidence is building while admitting there is still a pressure to succeed. "I don't think that ever lifts until you've got a trophy in your hand," he said. "But I do think there's been a good feel about the place.
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