Rangers legend Ally McCoist insists Rangers have closed the gap on Celtic.
The former Ibrox striker reckons Michael Beale has narrowed the margin between the clubs since his arrival.
The Rangers manager has drawn once and lost twice against Celtic this season but McCoist is confident there is improvement.
However, McCoist is adamant Beale must improve results against Celtic with a huge opportunity this weekend in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
McCoist, speaking on the Old Firm Derby Fan Debate Special, in partnership with Sky Bet said: “The last Old Firm game which Celtic won 3-2, regardless of that result it would have been extremely difficult had it gone the other way for Rangers to catch Celtic.
"A lot of Rangers supporters, without giving up on the league, will look at this fixture as a massive opportunity to get some silverware and retain the Scottish Cup.
"It won’t be easy because the record they have against Celtic in recent times has not been good. I’m of the opinion that the gap has closed slightly, since Michael Beale has come in, but it must improve, and there will be no better time than the Scottish Cup semi-final for that to change.
“In recent times I think the gap has closed. I look at the game at Ibrox, it finished 2-2 – not a lot in it – I look at the game at Celtic Park, where I thought Rangers were the slightly better team but still didn’t win the game.”
While McCoist reckons Rangers have made progress against Celtic, he admits Celtic's four trebles since the Ibrox side's last stings.
And he suggested Celtic could even have won more in that period given the "eventful" period in Rangers' history in the last decade.
He added: “It hurts [Celtic winning four trebles since Rangers last] but you’ve got to be realistic about it and say that they’ve had some good teams.
"Rangers have had a period in their history which has been eventful to say the least. You could argue that they should have won more.”
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