“You don’t achieve something so big and people forget about it but we’re well aware that the language of 55 has to stop now and we have to move on to 56 and try and achieve that.”

After a decade where one number counted more than any other, Steven Gerrard isn't about to rest on his laurels just because expectations have been met at last.

A winner all his days, it’s a trait that stands him in perfect stead at a club where success is measured by a “what have you done for me lately?” yardstick.

It was Richard Gough, a captain who knows more about silverware than almost anyone, who famously stated that while at other clubs you can be as good as your last game, Ibrox judges you by the last pass.

It can be an unforgiving and demanding environment and there will be no end of inquests should Rangers fail to make it two for two in the title stakes.

Of course, this is largely down to the standards and quality the manager has already established in the team. They were utterly dominant in the league last season and while an unbeaten standard is impossible to maintain, it’s hard to imagine too big a drop off from such an effective, well-drilled unit.

A player or two will be sold as part of the club’s player trading strategy and while that may weaken certain positions, new men will also be brought in to compliment top summer signings Fashion Sakala and John Lundstram.

With no managerial changes and a well-established football structure in place, everything is set for Rangers to build on last year’s glory.

Across the city at the only realistic challengers, things are looking much more fraught.

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Celtic are in the middle of a top to bottom rebuild of the club while new manager Ange Postecoglou is set to embark on a debut season in elite European football.

It will be a huge adjustment for him as he gets used to the idiosyncracies of Scotland's West Coast.

The former Australia manager has good players at his disposal but with Kris Ajer, Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie keen to try pastures new, the most gifted of their operators will have to be replaced.

In short, Celtic seem a club in significant transition.

It seems reasonable to deduce that a sustained and intense challenge from the East End is more likely to come in the battle for 57 than 56.

Of course, Gerrard won’t be paying too much attention to what’s going on in with rivals at the moment. But he will know the club is in a position where long-hanging fruit can be plucked.

It’s a scenario that’s been brought about not by chance but through three years of intelligent purchasing in the transfer market and serious graft on the training pitch.

The Ibrox men show many of the same characteristics today they did in Gerrard’s first competitive game and he’s slowly refined and sculpted his initial ideas into the sophisticated outfit you see today.

Last season showed they have the class and the tactical discipline to win major trophies. Key players stood tall in the big games but crucially also showed the same appetite for less glamourous surroundings.

Gerrard and his players often used the word “relentless” when talking about their attitude to the game and he will have to ensure that theme remains at the forefront of minds.

After all, anything less won’t be tolerated.

Ibrox expects once again, perhaps that’s Gerrard’s greatest achievement of all.