Aberdeen defender Andy Considine believes the Reds are better than Rangers and will prove it by securing second place in the Premiership this season.
The Dons trail the Light Blues by four points in the league but will move to within a point of Mark Warburton’s side if they beat Motherwell at Pittodrie tonight.
Having finished second in the last two seasons Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes wants a hat-trick and Considine said: “Beating Rangers to secondspot is something the manager told us we need to achieve.
“We need to do that and stamp our authority on Aberdeen being in second place.
“It would be a disappointment if we didn’t, the players would be upset if we lost second to Rangers.
“I feel we have a stronger squad than they have and have shown that over the last few years.
“With the games we have to go we have every chance of being above Rangers by the turn of the year.
“They still have Celtic to play before then but we have to just focus on ourselves and concentrate on what we can do.”
The Dons defender, who hopes to begin talks on a new deal in January, has been impressed by the Light Blues but believes the Reds are stronger.
He said: “Rangers coming back has made it a lot tougher, to Ibrox.
“There has been a lot said about them but they are a fantastic team and they’ve held their own since they came up.
“I am not surprised they are up there. The matches between us have been tight and they have a bit of momentum. They are doing very well but we have a cracking squad here.
“It would be a huge achievement to finish above them this season because a lot of people expected them to come back and just slot into second.
“But we have shown in the past few years how important it is for us to be in second place because we want European football.
“It’s massive and it will be a tough job but I think we have the team to do it. I think we’ve definitely got the edge.”
The Dons could have been playing for second place tonight but had to settle for a point following a goalless Scottish Premiership draw with St Johnstone at Pittodrie on Saturday.
However, as they prepare for their fourth game of an eight-match run in December tonight Considine knows beating the Steelmen is imperative.
He said: “We have a tougher schedule than most of the teams because of the games we’ve had to move.
“It makes things more difficult but you have to look at it the other way, it’s a chance to get the St Johnstone result out of our heads.
“We have a lot of confidence and it’s a chance to build some momentum over the next few weeks.
“We need to get back to winning ways to keep in touch with Celtic and Rangers as well as hopefully create a gap to Hearts.
“Because of dropping points last weekend – and Rangers winning – the Motherwell game is very important.”