THE beams on the faces at Ibrox, in the surrounding area and within the sanctum itself, were broad on Saturday night. The feel-good factor had returned to the club.

And then, yesterday, Celtic delivered what has become almost a trademark performance, resisting any inclinations of defeat and once more coming from behind to see off one of the SPL's better teams.

The events of the weekend, so far as the Old Firm are concerned, confirmed the embryonic contest for supremacy between the newly-installed Walter Smith and Gordon Strachan has a mighty distance to travel before we see any birth of a new era for Rangers.

Yet, the friction is welcome. The old business here requires the two Glasgow powers to be locked in combat, fully contesting the domestic prizes and allowing themselves decent names in Europe.

Of course, it's much too late for Rangers to overcome their tawdry performances under Paul Le Guen, which have seen the creation of a gap even San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge could not span.

Momentarily, there was a suspicion the 5-0 win over Dundee United, which cut Celtic's lead to 14 points, might just crank pressure on Strachan and his lot, but there was not an inkling of trepidation at Tynecastle.

Rather, the 2-1 win was a solid declaration of intent, allowing the restoration of the 17-point advantage and, moreover, tossing the gauntlet in the direction of Smith.

As the Rangers manager recognises, in the contest of wills between the Old Firm, possession is nine tenths of the law and right now Celtic are the prosecution, the judge, and the jury determining the outcome. And not simply this time round - no deliberation required - but for the foreseeable future.

So, how can Smith shift this balance of power towards a condition he engineered during the 1990s? Well, the obvious answer is, with great difficulty, because Strachan has enhanced the winning mindset created by his predecessor Martin O'Neill.

In this regard, Celtic now enjoy the mentality Rangers utilised under Smith to dominate the game.

Once established it can be an anchor, requiring the white hot heat of a breaker's torch to slice and for all the glow that almost lit up Ibrox on a wet and windy afternoon, there can be no guarantees; not short-term, which is a given, but into the foreseeable future, also.

Rangers won adequately rather than handsomely and the final goal, by restored captain Barry Ferguson, probably settled the controversy over his role, which was dodgy, in the departure of Le Guen. Presently, he is one of but a few on the playing staff who just might be capable of lending weight to Smith's planned restructuring of ambitions and stature.

There's no question Smith will have to be financed by David Murray, who seems willing to do so. Almost lost in the welter of words when the new manager was introduced last week was a comment by him on this month's transfer window. "Deals can be made in the last 48 hours," he said.

With the domestic prizes but memories, there's no great immediacy - unless you consider a fortnight to be tight. The likelihood is Rangers will look on this window as shoppers do on the January Sales, a case of leave it late to get bargains.

This was a tactic which worked for O'Neill and will always be relevant. Prices drop as the shelves are cleared. There must be a gambler's instinct inherent to pursue the manoeuvre, but Murray has never been found wanting.

Smith's priority - other than the furthering of respect and optimism from the remaining tie or ties in the Uefa Cup - is to chase down Celtic next time round, so the two transfer windows available, this month and in the summer, will be crucial.

He's under no illusions of the difficulties, being of an age to recall the scale of the job confronted by a predecessor, Willie Waddell, when he was asked to take on Jock Stein's Celtic at the butt end of the 1960s. By then, Stein had established Celtic as the major domestic power and a mighty force in Europe, too, and Waddell never did win a title despite a sharp and successful transformation that delivered the Cup Winners' Cup in 1972.

Also, Smith is aware of the problems his Rangers' teams caused for a succession of Celtic managers, resulting in the exits from Parkhead of Liam Brady, Lou Macari, and Tommy Burns.

For the moment, this contest of managers, their pedigrees and philosophies, is nothing more than the phoney war. Rangers will earn second place in the SPL and a crack at qualification to the financial bounty of the Champions League.

Next time round, though, it will be a bare knuckle fight and that's an invigorating prospect.