RANGERS winger Glenn Middleton has watched Rapid Vienna and Hearts blown away at 'intimidating' Ibrox and he's convinced Steven Gerrard will soon sort their away day problems too to launch a platform for a title challenge.

The 18-year-old wide man has made an impressive breakthrough under Gerrard this term as a rejuvenated Rangers reached the Group Stages of the Europa League, while emerging as serious Premiership contenders.

But while Rapid and Hearts were both swept aside at a rocking Ibrox to end an excellent few days for Gerrard and co,, their away form is far from the mark of champions. They have collected just two points from their four away games in the Premiership, having lost at Celtic and Livingston, while only drawing at Aberdeen and Motherwell.

However, Middleton is convinced Rangers will soon turn that around and match their form outside Govan elsewhere. But he's insisted no one at the club is getting carried away despite mounting expectations from their fans.

He said: "I don’t think our away form is anything to be worried about. We are working as hard as we can every single week. When we are playing at home, teams are intimidated to come to Ibrox now.

"We have made it a bit of a fortress for teams to come to. We come out of the tunnel and we hear the fans are all up for it then it gets us up for it as well. It gives us that bit more of an edge to perform.

"All it takes is one game away from home and it’ll all click. It will all kick on from there and we will start winning and it will be back to normal. We have shown we can do it at home and now we need to show we can do it away from home.

"It is wide open this season, Hearts have had a good start but we showed we can compete with them, we just need to be consistent with our performances. We take it game by game, we have European games during the week and league games at the weekend so we can’t get carried away. But winning against Hearts and winning in the Europa League group stage has shown that we are a top team.

"There’s no danger we will get ahead of ourselves as we as a squad know what it is to play for Rangers and what’s asked of you every time you step out onto the pitch. It’s our responsibility to go out and show the fans what we are capable of doing and what we are capable of achieving as a team.

"But we can bridge that gap. We have top quality players for every position, we are all pushing for a start each game and that’s really good for the boys as they know they need to be performing at the top of their game.”

Middleton has gone from surprisingly released by Norwich City at the start of the year to being a big part of Gerrard's plans and enjoying the big European nights at Ibrox. And he's underlined the commitment made my his family towards his success, with dad Duncan and dad Mary set to up sticks from their family home in Norwich to be closer to Middleton.

He said: "Hopefully they will move to Glasgow and that will happen soon, but they are at every game with me. They are always there supporting which is great for me.

"The drive up from Norwich most weeks just to watch the games. They have always been like that, driving everywhere to watch me from days with the youth side at Norwich. It takes them seven and half hours..

"It’s been a dream start for me at Rangers and I’ve been grateful for the opportunities. But it’s only the start for me, I need to keep taking the chances that come my way, bit by bit. If I keep taking my chances whenever I get them then I’ll see where it takes me.

"You have an idea in your head about how you want things to go, but I admit it’s all gone pretty well so far. Last season seems like a long time ago and I’m just grateful for being at Rangers and everything that’s happened.

"Nothing beats being involved in these games, even if I am sitting on the bench. It’s makes you appreciate it that little bit more. You don’t focus on what’s going on, you can hear all of the noise and our crowd is very special to the team when we are playing."

Middleton is desperate to cap off a fine start to the season by helping Scot Gemmill's side to two wins in Ukraine tomorrow and next week against England which could send the young Scots into a play-off to try and qualify for their first Euro Finals since 1996.

He added: "It’s clear to see that when this team performs to it’s capabilities then it can compete with anyone. Scot will set us up with a game plan on Friday and then it’s up to us to carry that out.

"We all know what we have to do but if we don’t score in the first half hour then we shouldn’t get very panicky. We know we’ll get chances with the players we have in the team.

"Scot has given me opportunities all the way up from Under 15s level and now hopefully if I can get the chance I will perform for him."