Amoruso: Rangers must be consistent

The Italian feels his side can only afford two defeats over the 38-league game campaign -- aside from the meetings between the two clubs -- if they are to deny Celtic a third consecutive championship.

"Last season, the league was gone before Christmas. We drew two or three games right at the beginning and then there was a six-point gap between us and Celtic," said Amoruso after Sunday's 2-2 draw in a friendly against AC Milan at Ibrox.

"With respect to the other teams in Scotland, if you fall six points behind it's very difficult to come back, unless the team at the top does something stupid."

"We drew seven or eight games and dropped around 14 points, that is too many for a team that wants to win the league. If we want to do it this time, I think we can drop no more than six points."

In manager Martin O'Neill's first season as Celtic's manager, his side won the Scottish title by 15 points, increasing the winning margin to 18 over second-placed Rangers last year.

O'Neill's side only lost one game in reaching 103 points last season -- a new record.

"Last season, we lost twice and drew twice against Celtic which was not great, but maybe we could afford to drop points against them if we did not drop so many against the other teams," said the 32-year-old, a 4.5 million pound (US$7.04 million) signing from Fiorentina in 1997.

Rangers begin their season against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 3, while Celtic host Dunfermline Athletic at Celtic Park.

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