Rangers buoyant but 'true test' to come - Arfield

[SNS] Scott Arfield believes former club Rangers are "right in there now" after a difficult start to the season - but still face a "true test" this weekend. Sunday's 3-0 League Cup last-eight triumph over Celtic extended Rangers' winning run to five in all competitions, the first four of which were all narrow victories. Next, Derek McInnes' men travel to face Martin O'Neill's side in the Premiership on Sunday, with the defending champions up against Fenerbahce in Thursday's Europa League match first. "It's a great start," Arfield told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "There's been a lot of negativity since Derek McInnes was appointed. There was a lot of negativity with the players, the recruitment. "They're right in there now. That's five wins out of five in the last five games. Everybody knows that football is full of momentum. "They're in a good, rich vein of form right now and it's all about keeping that momentum as much as they can." Prior to their winning run, Rangers were knocked out of two European competitions and took one point from their opening two league fixtures. "To beat your rivals very, very convincingly will go a long way to settle the noise up here," Arfield, who won the Premiership and Scottish Cup at Ibrox, said. "It's probably as easy a game against Celtic I've seen in a long, long time. Rangers just rose to the occasion. From minute one to the 90th, they were by far the superior team. "There's optimism around the full club now. "There's going to be bigger tests going forward, starting next week at Celtic Park. That'll be the true test. "It'll be a copy and paste from Derek McInnes on Sunday. Martin O'Neill, he's a very clever manager - I think he'll come up with something a wee bit different."