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Rangers on a high after Inverness win

احدث اجدد واروع واجمل واشيك Rangers on a high after Inverness win

Walter Smith said Rangers narrow 1-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Ibrox would give his side a psychological boost in their bid to win a third consecutive Scottish Premier League title.

Steven Davis on Tuesday struck on the stroke of half-time to seal the three points which takes Smith's side to within two points of rivals Celtic at the top of the table.

Celtic temporarily went eight points clear when they won their early kick-off match against Hibernian on Saturday but wins against Hamilton and Inverness saw Rangers close the gap.

Now Rangers, who have two games in hand over their Old Firm rivals, could find themselves top before Celtic take to the pitch against Aberdeen on Saturday if Smith's side can defeat third-placed Hearts at Tynecastle.

And while he would always prefer to have the points on the board instead of games in hand Smith said his side would take confidence from their win against an Inverness side that has drawn against both Old Firm sides in Glasgow this season.

"When you have games in hand it's always awkward. You have to win the games which makes each of the games we play in the midweek important ones for us," Smith said.

"That's why this game was a really important one psychologically, making sure that we continued to win.

"We've closed the gap a little bit so we have to take heart from that and hope that we can continue and win the games that we have in hand although it may be a good few weeks yet until we can get level on games."

The game also saw the return of Nikica Jelavic from a three month injury layoff as he replaced James Beattie as a second-half substitute.

With top-scorer Kenny Miller expected to sign for Turkish champions Bursaspor within the next few days Smith admitted it was a relief to see the Croatian striker back in action.

"We're delighted to have him back on the pitch as he has been doing well in training," the Rangers boss said.

"He's just on the pitch and I think he's had three or four attempts on goal so maybe when match sharpness comes back we'll see a goal at the end of it.

"He would have been a good partner for Kenny Miller over the period.

"We're disappointed that we've hardly had them together after thinking that we would've had them from the start of the season but it doesn't look as if we will have so we just have to get on with it now.

"But we're happy to have a striker back considering as we may lose one.

"We don't know if Kenny is away yet or not. Both clubs haven't agreed a fee. I think Kenny and his advisors have agreed their part with Bursaspor so we will just have to wait and see whether they can reach agreement with our own club."


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