Five weeks, eight games, 10 points dropped – the numbers that should prove decisive in this year's Scottish Premiership title race. These are the statistics Rangers will rue if, as looks likely, Celtic's march to a ninth championship in a row is completed in the coming weeks.
Multiple, avoidable, slip-ups since the winter break have cost Rangers dear. Defeat at bottom-of-the-table Hearts; a home draw with Aberdeen - after beating them 5-0 at Ibrox earlier in the season; defeat away to Kilmarnock, after leading with 15 minutes left; a draw at St Johnstone, after coming from behind to lead 2-1.
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Questionable defending combined with profligacy in front of goal have created a chasm to the champions that now looks unbridgeable. In contrast, Celtic's results have been immaculate - eight games, eight wins. Relentless, ruthless and emphatic, Neil Lennon's side bear the hallmarks of battle-hardened champions.
The Scottish Cup now looks like Rangers' only route to domestic silverware this season. This weekend they face a tricky quarter-final at Tynecastle, while Celtic travel to St Johnstone hoping to move one step closer to a fourth successive treble.
Rangers march on in Europe
Yet as March beckons, hope springs eternal for Steven Gerrard on another front - Europe. Celtic are scaling unparalleled heights at home, but their surprise defeat to Copenhagen on Thursday has left Rangers to fly the Scottish flag in the Europa League.
Sitting fifth in the Bundesliga, six points behind leaders Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen will be a stern proposition in the last 16, but given the calibre of opponents that have been overcome this season, Rangers should not be overawed. Progression is certainly possible.
Since Gerrard's arrival in 2018, his team have been consistently impressive in the Europa League. In 30 matches in the qualifying, group stage and knockout rounds, they have lost just three times, and this season only once in 16 games - an injury-time defeat away to Young Boys.
After conceding only six goals in the group stage, a clean sheet on Wednesday in Portugal helped ensure passage to the last-16. In beating Braga twice in a week, they overcame the form side in Portuguese football, who had not lost domestically since the turn of the year.
Rangers' contrasting performances
Many Rangers supporters must find the contrast of their European success against domestic struggles perplexing. Three reasons can be mooted: first, the squad is not deep enough to withstand a gruelling Scottish season; second, the style of play is "better suited to European football"; third, the team raises itself for big occasions, but loses focus in the face of routine league assignments.
Recruitment can certainly be scrutinised. Rangers beat Braga in Portugal without the suspended Alfredo Morelos; the Colombian has scored 14 goals in Europe this season and 29 in total, but only one since the winter break. His loss of form, combined with Jermain Defoe's injury in January, has coincided with Rangers' title challenge collapsing.
Another player missing since Christmas has been defender Filip Helander, injured in the League Cup final. His replacement Nikola Katic scored the winner in the New Year derby, but the young Croat had an awful day at McDiarmid Park last Sunday, prompting Gerrard to publicly pine for Helander's return. George Edmundson shone in Braga, but has been largely untested in the league.
Rangers' squad has been wholly shaped by Gerrard in the last four transfer windows. Form and results in December were good enough for him to surmise little business was required in January; yet on Deadline Day he was forced to scramble to bring in Ianis Hagi and Florian Kamberi. Injuries cannot be predicted, but the tendency to stick to tried and tested personnel has meant Rangers' depth is lacking in quality and experience, especially in the full-back areas and on the wings. More investment is required in the summer.
The argument Rangers find life easier in Europe when they can counterattack opponents who control possession does not really stand up. They have proved they can match Celtic on the big occasion twice - dominating the League Cup final without an end product, and then backing it up three weeks later at Celtic Park.
They have rarely looked short of ideas in Europe, hence the increased optimism surrounding this competition. Ryan Kent's winner in Braga did come from a breakaway, but Hagi's goals at Ibrox came from set-pieces while the other was a Joe Aribo solo effort. Against Porto in the autumn, Rangers had the bulk of the play and the better chances in both games, drawing away and comfortably winning at home; they also scored twice in Rotterdam against Feyenoord.
Domestically, opponents are sitting narrower in an attempt to frustrate Rangers - Aberdeen and Livingston's performances at Ibrox were classic examples of this - meaning alternative routes to goal are required. With Morelos out of touch, this has been a struggle. Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo are playing inspired football just now and Hagi is providing a spark, but they cannot do it alone.
The let-downs at Hearts, Kilmarnock and St Johnstone saw Rangers punished by suspect defending on tricky surfaces against inspired, stubborn opponents. Gerrard's remarks about these slip-ups have been as brutally honest as they are admirable, but point to the third theory - his squad are not yet at the level of Celtic when it comes to attaining a winning mentality.
Put simply, Gerrard's Rangers do not yet know how to win a title; Celtic have long since learnt that art. Ugly victories matter just as much as the attractive ones. The incredible consistency of the champions is to be admired; they have won 19 of their last 20 league games, and will match the 2016-2017 "Invincibles" record points total of 106 if they win their final 10 league games.
Celtic's surprising Europa League exit
Celtic have also produced superb results themselves in Europe this season, which made Thursday's calamity against Copenhagen even more surprising. Topping a group for the first time while beating Lazio home and away was impressive; few expected such a capitulation to the Danish champions.
At Celtic Park on Thursday, some dreadful individual errors cost Lennon's side, but he refused to blame any player given the efforts they have put in this season. There were, however, similar defensive aberrations in the Champions League play-off defeat to Cluj at the start of the season; while Celtic have improved in Europe, they continue to bang their heads against a glass ceiling.
Ultimately Celtic's priority has always been securing nine in a row. For all that European success swells the coffers, this season - and next - matter more than any other where the league is concerned. History beckons in the next 15 months; if Celtic can hold off Rangers' challenge and make it to 10, Glasgow's bragging rights will be secured forever.
The depth of Lennon's squad is frightening. January signings Patryk Klimala and Ismaila Soro, who cost around £6m between them, cannot get near the team. Leigh Griffiths' return to fitness has added another dimension up front, while the midfield is chock-full of creativity and options.
Lennon has also been shrewd in defeat, changing his players' focus after losing December's Old Firm game. The winter break in Dubai offered a chance to work on tactical tweaks; playing 3-5-2 since has allowed a greater flexibility and attacking threat. Celtic have options all over the park and teams in Scotland have been unable to cope.
Yet the X-factor separating Celtic from Rangers seems to lie between each individual's ears; the desire and mentality not to give up what is theirs. The League Cup final encapsulated this; outplayed throughout the game, Celtic somehow dragged themselves to victory against the odds, as Rangers faltered in sight of the finish line.
For the second year in a row, Gerrard has endured a winter of discontent. The inescapable pressure of trying to win a league title cannot be underestimated, and led by Scott Brown, Celtic have their eyes on the main prize once more. Rangers have proved they can be a match on their day, but until they do so on a consistent basis, the cup competitions will only offer light relief.