Dunfermline boss Jim Jefferies insists Rangers will be worthy winners of League One if they can secure the title against Airdrie.
The East End Park men’s failure to beat Stenhousemuir at the weekend means Ally McCoist’s men can clinch the championship at Ibrox and Jefferies says he would have no complaints if that proved to be the case.
“At times they’ve not played well on a lot of occasions but the sign of a good team is they get a win,” he said.
“How doesn’t matter and that’s the most important thing. At the end of the day, they had to win with a lot of younger players in the division below and they’ve got the wins that matter this season.
“They are undefeated in the league still, so of course they are deserving winners of the league.
“I think when you look at their squad it’s loaded with experienced players, and you would be disappointed if they didn’t win the league.
“But the pressure’s on there to succeed and they’ve had to deal with that. They have dealt with that and they are worthy champions, there’s no doubt about that.”
The Pars are due to travel to Ibrox in the league on Saturday, so what happens in tonight’s game could well have a bearing on how the Glasgow side treat this weekend’s fixture.
Having said that, however, Jefferies is expecting yet another tough encounter against the champions-elect and will prepare his Pars in the usual way, whatever the scoreline.
“We’ll not bother too much how Rangers will look at it,” he added.
“If they win the league, then congratulations to them, they will be deserving champions.
“But we’ve got to take Saturday’s game as if they have got the chance to win the league against us because they are Rangers and the pressure is on them to win every game.
“They’ve also got that undefeated record, which they will want to keep intact, so there’s plenty for them to play for I think.
“Maybe the end of the season game might be a bit different. Certainly my team will be a lot different if we make the play-offs because we’ll have a play-off game on the Wednesday.
“There would be a lot rested, put it that way. But this game is a bit different because we’re still attempting to get enough points to secure a play-off spot.
“It’s in our own hands and that’s the most important thing, because we want to finish second.
“After the Rangers game there’s a great opportunity to do that because we’ve got two or three games against teams in the lower half who are fighting for their lives and don’t make it easy.”