Rangers head into today’s SPFL Premiership opener with Livingston as reigning champions of Scotland and the team to beat once again.

You should fully expect it to remain that way for some time yet.

Following on from an invincible campaign, the target this year must be a domestic treble and Champions League qualification.

They say defending a league crown is more difficult than acquiring it for the first time, however, in this instance, 56 may very well become a procession.

Having spoken recently to former Rangers defender Colin Hendry for an in-depth look back at his time at Ibrox, he told me:

“The difference in relation to when Gerrard took over to where he is now, he took over a team of lads, and now he’s got a team of men." He said.

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“What he did was incredible and now that platform’s been set, it's time to go to the next stage and that’s retaining it.

“To retain a league, it doesn’t matter which country you’re in, is difficult.

“It wasn’t that easy when I won it with Blackburn and it certainly wasn’t easy winning it with Rangers but the next bit is, of course, retaining it and that’s the really difficult part."

Now, Colin would normally be correct, but this Rangers side are so far ahead of the chasing pack they could have the league wrapped up in time for the fat man coming down the chimney.

Old Firm rivals Celtic are the most realistic threat to two-in-a-row, but you will struggle to find anyone willing to back the Parkhead club reclaiming the title given the upheaval there both on and off the field.

Even if, and it's a big if,  Ange Postecoglu turns out to be the Australian equivalent of Guardiola, he still needs time and a raft of top quality reinforcements to compete with this Rangers side.

We’ve all seen the videos on social media of grown men joking, “Can you see the Rangers coming?’”

Well, it’s clear they didn’t and now the Ibrox men have gone so far past them they are a dot on the landscape.

You often hear phrases used such as, “Celtic fell asleep at the wheel” to allow Rangers to close the gap. That kind of comment should act as a warning for the Light Blues over the kind of complacency that can set in like a rot.

But all the signs from the pre-season campaign point towards full concentration.

The matches against Partick Thistle and Tranmere were all about getting minutes in players' legs, although Steven Gerrard’s post-match interview with Rangers TV after the match at Prenton Park highlighted the relentless standards being set:

“The goal we conceded is embarrassing from our level and how we were last year.” He said.

“People jumping out of the way of tackles, people being soft and weak. I can’t tolerate that.”

His comments certainly impacted the players in their next test against Arsenal at a sun-kissed Ibrox as Rangers upped the tempo and earned a credible 2-2 draw.

Next up was Brighton and the most famous football club on the planet, Real Madrid. Having been at Ibrox in person for the visit of the Seagulls, you could not help but be mightily impressed with the work rate, passing combinations and intensity of what was, primarily, a fringe XI.

Sunday’s clash with Los Blancos was the match where you really started to think this Rangers side are ready and raring to go for the season ahead.

Yes, the big hitters were missing for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but it was still a team littered with Champions League winners and over £160m worth of talent.

Rangers dominated them and fully deserved their 2-1 win.

Of course, results don’t matter in pre-season, but they certainly don’t do you any harm if you win and it keeps that momentum going ahead of the visit of Livingston.

A domestic treble must be the realistic aim this year and while it will be difficult, it's highly achievable. 

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Gerrard’s cup record has been shabby, to say the least, and it’s an area he himself acknowledges improvements need to be made.

"I think it’s very much a case of the club setting new goals at the end of every year," Gerrard said in his pre-match press conference. "We have quarterly catch-ups with the board from a management point of view.

"Once we were champions in the middle of March it was very much a case of sitting down with the board and resetting. A fresh remit. Fresh challenges.

"They will remain private, but I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist at Rangers to work out what they are.

"It’s basically a case of going for everything available. That’s the way we like it. That’s the way we want it.

"That’s why we have been trying to prepare the strongest squad possible, to attack everything on all fronts."

Defeats to St Mirren and St Johnstone were the only blotches on an otherwise near-perfect season last time out, repeat exits won’t be tolerated.

It was ALL about 55 last season, nothing else really mattered in the grand scheme of things.

They matter now though.

With Celtic looking to build foundations, they should be more concerned with looking over their shoulder as opposed to trying to catch a rampaging Rangers hungry for more silverware.

A double would be acceptable of course, but a first treble since 2002/03 would put a fitting stamp of glory on Steven Gerrard's stunning managerial impact.

And as for Europe, fans are dreaming of those electric Champions League nights at Ibrox once again.

Malmo and a further play-off round will have to be overcome but this squad look capable of reaching the promised land for the first time in 11 years and not just reaching the group stage but competing.

Rangers don’t look like sleeping at the wheel, they’ve just started motoring.