Rangers stake their claim for 2nd place

So, that's it then. With the title already decided - Celtic seem welded to their 17 point lead - it seems that the battle for 2nd place, and the chance to qualify for the Champions League that goes with it, is a done deal too. Their ill-advised flirtation with fancy continental ways abandoned, Rangers celebrated the return of Walter Smith with a 5-0 rout of Dundee Utd.

Well, maybe. But there is still a long way to go, and the table tells the true story of the season: there is only 6 points covering the 4 clubs in 2nd to 5th. None of the clubs below Celtic have really imposed themselves this season, and a strong run could put any of them in contention. If Rangers are to pull away from the chasing pack they will need a consistent run of results, and consistency has not been their strong point.

True, Smith is taking steps to change things around. As if to underline the new direction at Rangers, every one of those 5 goals was scored by a Scottish player, with Barry Ferguson - restored to the captaincy - getting the fifth, and tapping his armband in celebration.

His first moves in the transfer market have been to strengthen a shambolic defence, bringing in Andy Webster and David Weir on loan - both canny moves. Weir, of course, was persuaded to return to the Scotland national team by Smith, and so although old, is bound to do a job for the club. Webster injured himself in training and will be out for a few weeks, but should be pushing for a starting place on his return, so long as his disappointing spell at Wigan has not dented his confidence too much.

But, much as it takes two to tango, it takes two teams to make a football match, and Dundee Utd were awful. Craig Levein had achieved an impressive upturn in results since taking over from Craig Brewster in October, but they came to an end with a 5-1 tanking from Falkirk on New Year's Day. He was happy to see that as a blip, but the Rangers game had him spitting blood.

"Far too often Dundee Utd lose by scorelines that are unacceptable", he fumed, his Presbyterian ire raised by his side's poor workrate. "People who don't want to do things properly, who don't want to fight to the end, are no good to me. I will just get rid of them". Rangers were gifted a win, then, but they won't have things so easy in other games, and the squad need to prove they have the desire and commitment necessary, week in, week out, to turn things around.

As for the rest of the challengers, Aberdeen needed a last-gasp goal to share the points with Inverness, and the shallowness of their squad is starting to show. Brewster - formerly a player manager with Inverness - and Jamie Smith are both out for at least a month, and the goals could dry up.

Hearts lost against Celtic, again, and had to witness Stephen Pressley captaining the opposition. For anyone who remembers Celtic in the 90s, their resilience is something to behold, and the key reason they are so far in front. Valdas Ivanauskas yet again showed his decision making in the heat of battle is suspect with a poor substitution, but Hearts have arguably as much talent as Rangers. As always, though, they need to decide what their best team is, or they will chop and change their way out of contention.

Meanwhile, Hibs stayed in the chase with a win over Kilmarnock, but Killie are in a dire run of form at the moment and slipping off the pace. Hibs will badly miss their striker Chris Killen, who snapped his Achilles tendon in the cup tie against Aberdeen last week.

With 2 weeks to go until the transfer window shuts, how much money are Rangers going to spend to make that second place theirs?