Steven Gerrard has one final challenge to overcome if he’s to achieve his ambition of bringing trophy success to Rangers.

The Ibrox squad, like the rest of the Premiership, have pressed pause on their league campaign to make way for international commitments.

Rangers return with a game at Hamilton Accies next weekend - and they simply must find a cure for their away day blues.

If they do - and this current squad has enough about them to find that level of consistency - a genuine title race is on the cards.

Steven has ticked every box asked of him since taking over the summer, with qualification for the Europa League group stage above and beyond what many expected for such a new look team.

Scott Arfield celebrates his goal with Alfredo Morelos

He has Rangers playing an attractive brand of attacking football, especially at Ibrox which has once again become a fortress on the back of some convincing displays, not least in the last week against Rapid Vienna and Hearts.

However, along with St Mirren they are the only club not to yet win on the road after draws at Aberdeen and Motherwell and that shock 1-0 defeat at Livingston.

Rangers must learn the lessons from the Tony Macaroni arena, where Gary Holt’s side were more than worthy winners - a point acknowledged by the visiting boss in the immediate aftermath.

I’ve played in enough Rangers teams to know it’s one thing to play in front of the 12th man at a capacity Ibrox, roared on by the bears while the opposition sit off, give you space to play and then hang on for dear life in the hope of snatching a point or maybe even hitting on the counter.

It’s quite another to go to venues such as Fir Park and Tynecastle, tight parks where the opposition are in your faces every bit as much as their fans.

The ferocity of endeavour by rival sides on their own grounds appears to have taken many of the current Rangers squad by surprise, but they’ve already proven to be quick learners.

They hardly need me to tell them how to adapt to win away from home, but I will anyway - and it all comes down to fighting fire with fire.

Rival players want to make it as horrible and difficult an environment as possible, so that inevitably means changing the way you play until the battle of wills is won and you can dictate the action on your own terms.

They want to go nose to nose? Good, bring it on - do it right back. I’ll tell you, it won’t always make for a classic 90 minutes but when you’re showered, on the bus and on your way home, those three points in your pocket don’t half feel good.

If I’m being picky, this current Rangers group are just one or two players short of being exceptional, but there’s no doubt they have enough about them to find a solution to their form on the road.

When they do, starting at Hamilton, they’ll soon find themselves in a position to mount a serious title challenge that won’t just be fought out between both sides of the Old Firm.

Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen will all have something to say at the top end of the table in the coming months and we could be on for the closest championship battle in almost a decade.

The plastic pitch at New Douglas Park poses problems of its own and I was interested to read this week of a move by top Dutch clubs to scrap the use of 5G surfaces in the Eredivisie.

I understand the economic argument for their use by many clubs in the Scottish game, particularly at the lower levels, but elite football in this country should always be played on grass.

No matter the surface, Rangers will go into the game against Accies on the crest of a wave after arguably their two most convincing performances of the campaign.

For some, the international break has come at the wrong time but it’s important to take a breather from the demands of domestic football every now and again, mentally as much as physically.

The number of high pressure games can be an emotional drain and for those not lucky enough to be given a change of scene with their international pals, a few days with the family can go a long way to re-charging the batteries.

Celtic are also beginning to find their gears in the Premiership after an uncertain start and the manner in which they blew away St Johnstone 6-0 only served to remind me talk of their demise was exaggerated.

However, no-one will be running away with the league this season and I’m convinced it won’t be all over bar the shouting by mid-February or early March, as has so often been the case with Celtic in the last few seasons.

For the first time, the six best sides in the country have the potential to take points from each other on a much more frequent basis and whoever wins the title this season is unlikely to do so with 90 points.

It pains me as a Rangers fan to say my old club have too often been a painful watch in the last couple of years, but they’re showing signs of being a proper football team again.

Now it’s up to Steven and his players to find their mojo on the road and prove something good is really happening on Edmiston Drive.