Sasa Papac has targeted the Old Firm game at the end of this month as Rangers' route back into the title race.

Ironically, for all that the Ibrox side have been as travel sick on the domestic road this season as Celtic are on the European one, their performance at Parkhead earlier this season was one that gave rise to the belief they were genuine Championship contenders.

However, since that enthralling contest, Rangers have shipped points at Fir Park, Pittodrie, Love Street and Tynecastle, and Papac knows that much is now resting on the outcome of the derby match at Ibrox on December 27.

Gers have a formidable record at home and Walter Smith's side will be keen to utilise their fort ahead of the game against Celtic. Rangers have three home games this month - Hamilton are first up on Saturday - but are on the road to Tannadice next weekend and Papac knows it is vital they go into the Celtic game without having lost further ground.

"I am sure the remaining three Old Firm games will be important when it comes to who wins the league. But they are big ones when it comes to deter-mining the Championship. Weir's worthy of much more praise says Sasa Sasa Papac believes fellow Ibrox defender David Weir has not been given due recognition.

The Scotland international was signed by Walter Smith on what was expected to be a short-term deal, but has since become a mainstay of the Ibrox rearguard.

"I think that David Weir is a player who doesn't get the credit he deserves," said Papac. "He has helped me so much, especially this year, and he is a very clever defender.

"For all that, he is getting to an age where people are wondering how much longer he can keep playing, he shows no signs of having to give up.

"He played more than 60 games last season and he is one of the fittest players at the club.

"He has been a great signing for Rangers."

"It is great when you win them. I have to say I have never experienced such intense rivalry. I knew all about it because I had watched games on TV before I came here, but it did take me a little by surprise.

"I don't think you can prepare yourself for these games because they are different from anything I had ever experienced. When we won at Parkhead earlier in the season it was important for us because it gave us a lot of confidence, but there are still another three Old Firm games to go and anything can still happen."

With Rangers trailing Gordon Strachan's side by seven points, they can ill-afford to allow the gap to widen, and the prospect of Celtic cruising to a fourth successive title does not rest easy in the corridors of Murray Park.

It means every game between now and the end of the season is a potential banana skin, with Smith's side knowing any more slip-ups could virtually end their title aspirations.

Papac will be back for Saturday and he has no concern about feeling the anxiety spill from the terraces on to the pitch should Rangers fail to take an early lead.

"I love the mental challenge that exists here," said the defender. "I feel under pressure in every game, but that is something that can bring out the best in you as a player and as a team.

"This is the kind of league where if you think you can relax and you don't play as hard as you can, then someone will take advantage. Pressure is not a problem for us. At Rangers we are always working under pressure and you have to learn to get used to that."

While Papac has not only acclimatised to playing under the microscope that comes with Old Firm territory, he has also adapted to playing in a left-back role under Smith.

However, he has admitted that after signing from Austria Vienna it did take him a little time to get used to the physical nature of the SPL when Paul le Guen introduced him to Glasgow, "There is a massive difference in the two leagues and it took me a bit of time to get used to it," he said. "This is a physical league, but that is not to say there is no talent in it.

"There are many good players here in the SPL who are comfortable on the ball and who have a very good technique, but you also have to be very fit because it is fast from the first minute to the last."

While Celtic's demise in the Champions League was the cause of much despair in the East End of the city, Rangers, too, could well have had their own reasons for wanting Celtic to be involved in more games.

Given the nature of Rangers' collapse at the end of last term, frequently attributed to the sheer volume of games they had to get through en route to the Uefa Cup Final, Papac would have had good reason to want Celtic's squad to be stretched to the limit.

However, he is more interested in what Rangers do than he is on peering over the fence and into Celtic's business.

"I wasn't too bothered about what happened with Celtic," he said. "To me it is all about Rangers and we have to look after ourselves. The big thing was that we lost points at the end of the season when we were playing so many games.

"I don't think it is possible to keep everything together when you are involved in so many matches and you have quite a small squad.

"This season Celtic have managed to win games in the league even when they have been playing midweek in the Champions League, but I don't think it is a problem to do that at this stage of the season.

"It is when you get to March and April and you have played 50-odd games that it starts to take its toll, mentally as much as physically."