GARY MCALLISTER says that Rangers’ first domestic aim this season is to stop Celtic winning their 10th trophy in-a-row, before they think about stopping them winning their ninth straight league title.
The Ibrox assistant manager is hoping to end Celtic’s stranglehold on the silverware at the first time of asking this season by going all the way in the Betfred Cup, with Rangers getting their campaign in the tournament up and running this afternoon as they visit East Fife.
And when asked if stopping Celtic tucking that trophy back into their cabinet was a priority for Rangers, McAllister said: "Absolutely, that's a fact. We're in a competition to try and win things and that's on our minds, that's what we're judged on - always.
"It's early in the season and comes quick. You don't have to win many games to get to the end of it. It could be the start of something. We've got to look at it like that.
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“People will say of the four competitions we're in priority-wise, it probably sits at the bottom, but not for us. It's the one that comes first, it's the first final. We want to try and get as far as we possibly can.
"When you're associated with this club as a player or on the coaching staff it's about winning. You've got to win - similar to when I was at Liverpool - and you have a greater chance of winning at a club like this. This club is about winning and we have to try and get back to winning ways.
"You need a bit of luck with the draw. That's always the case in cup competitions. We're six cup ties down the line already in Europe, so we're ready for it and want a nice run in this cup as well.”
McAllister says that Rangers will take the opportunity to shuffle their pack this afternoon when they come up against their League One opponents, but he feels that the strength in depth they now have at Ibrox means the team will not be significantly weakened.
"There will be changes on Sunday but we're in a position where we want to keep on a good run, keep the positivity,” he said.
“I know it's a bit of a buzzword, but momentum is with us at the moment, we're in a good place and it's a matter of going into this game with right mentality.
“The preparation will be exactly the same as all the other games we have played this season, we'll never underestimate our opponents, we're big favourites, but we go there to try and win the game.”
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