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Jermain Defoe: 'Rangers will not give up on title'

Jermain Defoe: 'Rangers will not give up on title'
© Reuters
Rangers trail Celtic by five points with a game in hand.

Jermain Defoe declared Rangers will fight to the end as they look to get their title bid back on track.

Steven Gerrard's team have handed the initiative back to Celtic after slumping to a 2-1 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle.

They still have a game in hand on their bitter Old Firm rivals but now sit five points back on Neil Lennon's champions.

Ibrox boss Gerrard has already warned his players any repeat of their abject Gorgie showing will kill their title aspirations stone dead.

But veteran frontman Defoe believes his side are ready to battle their way back into contention.

"That is all you can do to be honest," he said. "You can't lay down and die and you need to show character. That is football.

"It is a lot of pressure but at the end of the day it is good pressure because you are playing for a club like this and there is a demand to win games.

"You have to achieve things and titles and trophies. It is a lot of pressure but, at the same time, I feel that we are good enough and strong enough to handle that kind of pressure.

"Of course it is a setback today but all we can do is continue to do what we have done.

"We can't forget about the result today, of course, or the performance because it has got to hurt and it is hurting.

"Everyone is hurting, everyone involved, and it has to because you don't want to feel that pain again, you don't want that atmosphere in the changing room again.

"Up until this point we have done so well. We feel like we have let ourselves down to be honest."

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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard pictured in November 2019
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic220085275884
2RangersRangers220078255381
3Hearts20114637963
4Kilmarnock20114438652
5St Mirren21014246-446
6Dundee20024659-1341
Relegation Group
1Hibernian21014854-642
2Aberdeen22003749-1241
3Motherwell21015053-340
4Ross County21013459-2533
5St Johnstone20022550-2531
RLivingston21012563-3821
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
RLivingston3339212259-3718


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