It's a fine line for Michael Beale to tread.

On one hand, Rangers have collected four victories from four crucial matches under his leadership. On the other, the Ibrox manager concedes maximum points doesn't quite tell the whole story.

He needs to harness the momentum a quartet of wins generates, and yet will know relying on winning ugly tends to backfire before long.

For that reason, Beale has decided honesty is the best policy for a group of players who have clicked only in sporadic bursts since he returned to take the top job, even if doing may hurt them a little. A 3-0 success over a bare bones Motherwell side on Wednesday ensured they will arrive for the January 2 derby against Celtic no further behind than when Giovanni van Bronckhorst was relieved of his duties before the World Cup break.

Beale is adamant Rangers capable of more than they're showing - he's seen it first hand - and that's why some frank words might be just what his players need to cut that nine point gap come a monumental occasion on Monday.

“We are not playing to our potential and it is on me to improve that," Beale said. "We needed to win the four games and we have won them. 

“It is not perfect but if it was perfect I wouldn’t be sitting here. It is clear we have work to do and it is important I am honest with them.

“As a group we are not where I want to be right now. Four wins on the bounce is good for any team so you would think we are moving forward.

READ MORE: Five talking points as Rangers make it four from four under Michael Beale

“My honesty might sting but I am trying to push towards the standards they have set themselves previously. The team I left had lost one in 52 in the league and they have lost one in 48 at home.

“But, we want to play with more swagger, with more style and more control. This is a team who were capable of beating Lepzig and Dortmund six months ago so it is in them.”

Goals from Alfredo Morelos, Connor Goldson and Malik Tillman were enough for three points but Beale was alarmed by some of what he witnessed. At times, there was a sloppiness about Rangers' passing; a tendency for unforced errors that the manager freely admits has taken him by surprise.

Motherwell did not possess the quality to push them, but Celtic do. On more than one occasion, Rangers surrendered possession in areas that left them badly out of shape, something you simply cannot do against a side with the incisiveness of Ange Postecoglou's.

“It’s three points, a clean sheet - that was it," Beale said, bluntly. "But we were disjointed again, It wasn’t free-flowing, I won’t sit here and pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. It wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

“If you had said to me we would take 12 points from these four games, with a couple of clean sheets leading into the next game, I would have taken it. I would have liked us to be playing with a bit more rhythm.

“But it’s another three points and a clean sheet with Ben (Davies) and Connor (Goldson) on the pitch. We need to find some rhythm quickly or we need to be much better out of possession.

“Because we are giving away the passes unopposed. That is a concern because it’s leaving us vulnerable. It’s not something I expected so it’s an area I have to work on in the next three or four days."

Rangers' preparations could be made that bit trickier by Morelos limping off late on last night, a hamstring issue Beale hopes has been caught in time to be nothing more than just tightness. If not, however, he'll have to think carefully about who plays up front and when against Celtic.

Both Antonio Colak and Kemar Roofe are available for selection, but neither man has played any football since the restart. The blood and thunder of a derby perhaps isn't the ideal stage to ease yourself back to fitness, but Beale will be left with little choice if there's any concern around Morelos.

“We had a bit of a red flag (with Morelos) after the Aberdeen game," the manager revealed. "He was due to come off just as we scored the third goal, because he felt some tightness in his hamstring. So obviously he missed the Ross County game, only came on for the last 30 minutes, came on and felt fine, so we started him tonight.

“I believe it’s tightness. So hopefully he’s come off at the right time before it’s anything bigger. He’s had to go to the well because we’ve had very limited options there with Kemar and Antonio out.

“They’re both fit to go. They’re physically fit, in terms of training. But whether they’ve got 90 minutes in them at this moment in time, you would probably say no. So it’s good to have them back.

“If Alfredo is not ready, they will share the minutes and play. I think it’s important that they are back for us. But it was nice to see Alfredo score a goal for us."

If Beale is to instil the improvements he feels are necessary, he'll need to do it running at full pelt through a packed January. There's Celtic, then Tannadice, then a League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, then Rugby Park, then a Scottish Cup test away at St Johnstone.

It's too early to call it a defining month for Beale, so young is his tenure, but it will have a considerable say on how this current season pans out.

“January is a huge month, there’s a derby, a cup semi-final, a big cup game away, and we know we need to improve," he said. "Right now I would take results over performances but I know, over time, that we have to play better.

“The fans want to be excited and entertained. The players want the same."