Rangers bottle crashing accusations should HURT and listen up because I don't say this next bit often - Kenny Miller

There are huge questions being asked about this Rangers squad on the back of a nightmare four days. But the one positive is the fact the Ibrox side still have time to come up with some answers.

There are five games left in the Premiership title race and, contrary to popular belief, it’s NOT actually over yet. It will be tough unless Rangers can step up and prove everyone wrong, prove they do have the hunger to get over the line. I don’t throw around words like those easily but those were the things in my mind watching the 0-0 draw at Dens Park on Wednesday night.

That was the time to produce a response to the Ross County defeat – and the most worrying thing was there was no reaction. There needs to be one now because even though it’s the Scottish Cup this weekend, defeat to Hearts this afternoon would turn a very bad few days into an absolutely disastrous week. It has been an incredible turnaround of late.

There was so much positivity after the comeback against Celtic to secure a point. I think most people expected Rangers to be two points clear at the top of the table after playing their two games in hand – not three points behind. And now Philippe Clement is facing a huge challenge to get his side back on track – and sharpish.

The manager is now discovering what it can be like for an Old Firm boss. It can be going along like everything is smooth sailing but within four days, after two poor performances, it’s like the end of the world. And everyone is queuing up to put the boot in.

When it does go wrong, absolutely everything comes under the spotlight and is analysed in forensic detail. There’s talk about players over-celebrating that 3-3 draw with Celtic.

Controversy about Clement not shaking hands with County boss Don Cowie. There’s fans going mad at comments made in post-match interviews when previously they’ve been hanging on your every word.

Welcome to Glasgow, Philippe. The Belgian had barely put a foot wrong since arriving in these parts. I think it’s remarkable he has managed even to get Rangers into a title race at this stage, given the situation he walked into.

Up until a week ago people were talking about a potential Treble, a nonsense idea to suggest back in October. Clement has made huge strides but there have been some things I’ve not quite agreed with him on of late. I didn’t get his assessment of the County defeat.

The last half-hour of the game wasn’t down to Rangers picking up – it was the Staggies trying to safeguard three points that could be crucial to their survival. Rangers gave up more chances at County than I can easily remember and deserved to lose.

The same goes for the Dundee game. Of course Clement is trying to protect his players. He’s not going to throw them under the bus when he is relying on them for the remainder of the campaign. But there still needs to be a bit of realism – like Dujon Sterling showed in his post-match comments.

His reaction showed there is an awareness and it suggested to me Clement’s message was very different behind closed doors. That’s the way it should be but the manager now has to get something out of these players.

They should be hurt by these accusations about their bottle crashing. They have left themselves open to it because they have buckled in these key moments.

Yet there are more to come to show they do have it within them. I used to love this time in the season when everything is on the line. It’s what it is all about, why you even play football. You need to embrace the challenge.

A lot of these players will point to winning the title a few years ago, the Scottish Cup a while back and the League Cup earlier this season. But this is not something to shout about. It is normal for Rangers to win. In fact, it’s normal to have won MORE.

The Scottish Cup is another opportunity and today’s game against Hearts is massive. They are the third-best team in the country and will smell blood. If Rangers fail to get to the final then the narrative will be about an end-of-season collapse.

Get the job done and they have a shot at silverware. It could give them the burst of belief needed to get back in the title race – and prove they can cut it as Rangers players.