Steven Gerrard felt Rangers had made a statement with their 1-0 win over rivals Celtic, but insisted they were not looking at their 19-point lead atop the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers took a huge step towards winning the league, an achievement which would deny Celtic 10 in a row, with a narrow triumph at Ibrox on Saturday.
Callum McGregor’s second-half own goal, shortly after Nir Bitton had been sent off for a foul on Alfredo Morelos, meant Gerrard’s men triumphed despite not registering a shot on target.
They also won 2-0 at Celtic Park in October and have won three straight derbies dating back to last season, their best run since 2008 when Walter Smith was in charge.
While 19 points is a formidable advantage, Gerrard is not taking anything for granted, with Celtic holding three games in hand.
“We don’t look at the 19-point lead, we look at our next game against Aberdeen,” Gerrard said to Sky Sports.
“There are three points available there and 48 still to play for, so still a lot of challenges, a lot of obstacles to get over. We don’t look at leads and our season starts now.
“But today was big in terms of making a statement and proving we can win our second derby out of two.”
Celtic were on top until Bitton saw red, with Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor making three important first-half saves, most notably tipping a 25-yard Leigh Griffiths strike onto the post.
Asked about McGregor’s performance, Gerrard said: “Wow – outstanding. He is a world-class goalkeeper. “Good decision [making him man of the match].
The couple of saves he made kept us in the match. He is outstanding, reliable and trustworthy.
“I knew already but I now know even more why he has been so successful at this club because he has bailed us out again.”
Former Liverpool captain Gerrard was not overly worried by Rangers’ performance, adding: “First half we were not good enough, we were not ourselves and second best in a lot of areas.
“There was a massive improvement in the second half, then obviously the sending off was a big, major incident in the game and it looked like only one team would win it from there.
“Credit to Celtic – they played really well in the first half, but we were outstanding in the cup final for 90 minutes not too long ago and got nothing for it. It is about the end result.
“You are not always going to be pretty on the eye and able to show your style. It is about the outcome. It was all about the three points, especially at this stage of the season.
“It is another big three points and another clean sheet, so really proud of the team in terms of their efforts. We stretch our lead, remain humble and move on to Aberdeen.”
