When Danny Rohl took charge at Ibrox in October, a title challenge was the last thing on the minds of most Rangers supporters.
Much has been made of how he has taken a depleted squad and a fractured fanbase and galvanised both in a short period of time.
Victories over Celtic on Saturday and Aberdeen on Tuesday have taken Rangers three points above their Old Firm rivals and just three behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts, having played a game more than both.
Rangers have lost just one league game under the German’s stewardship and one key reason for their assault on the Premiership summit is their prowess from set-pieces.
Of course, that is not the only factor in Rangers’ turnaround, but the appointment of Scott Fry as set-piece coach in November was a shrewd one.
His previous club Lincoln City scored 30 goals from set-pieces last season, the most in League One, and his expertise has also been evident since his move north of the border.
When Rangers win a free-kick or corner, Rohl withdraws from the touchline, Fry emerges and takes charge to increasing effect.
In a league where many teams often sit in against the bigger clubs, small margins are vital and Rangers have scored seven league goals from corners in 10 games since Fry was appointed.
Towering defender Emmanuel Fernandez – a bit-part player in the early stages of the season – has been used to great effect, scoring four times in the league, three of those in games won by a single goal.
Only Dundee United and Hearts have scored more set-piece goals than Rangers (12) this term and no team top the Ibrox outfit in that statistic since Fry’s arrival.
Indeed, they are now only one shy of the set-piece goals tally they registered in both of the previous two seasons.
Aberdeen would have travelled down to Glasgow on Tuesday well aware of the dangers Rangers now pose, but Fernandez and Nicolas Raskin nodded home two in-swinging Connor Barron corners and Rohl’s side claimed three more valuable points.
It seems an obvious way to get an edge on the competition, but Rangers are doing it better than anyone else right now.
Last season in the Premiership, about 25% of all goals came from set-plays – 171 goals from a total of 675 if you exclude penalties.
This season, the number is 1% higher. Put plainly, a quarter of all goals consistently come from set-pieces.
In England’s top flight, that figure rises slightly higher to 28.5% this term.
If you look from now all the way back to the start of last season, Dundee United (42%) and Hearts (36%) place heavy reliance on goals from dead-ball situations.
Celtic’s return over that period is notable and an incredible outlier. Just 9.6% of their goals – excluding penalties – have come from set-pieces. Just 14 from 146 goals.
Set-piece expertise clearly doesn’t guarantee success, but effectively using it can make a big difference.
Rangers have found an important tool that they are exploiting as they rise up the table.
