Derek McInnes wants his Rangers side to mix fire with ice as they look to find their ruthless streak in Old Firm cauldron

Amid the tidal wave of emotion which he felt as his side sealed victory against St Mirren in injury time, Derek McInnes thought better of gilding the lily.

While the Rangers manager was right to state that his players got what they deserved in the end thanks to Bojan Miovski, they played a dangerous game. And not for the first time lately.

Four straight league wins have certainly settled supporters down after a dire start to the season. Those matches have still, though, offered grounds for concern.

Each of the wins has come by a single goal margin. Just five goals were chalked up in the process with just seven in six league games to date – one of those an own goal by Hibs’ Miguel Chaiwa. The five Rangers put past St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup is very much an anomaly.

More troubling is the fact that Lawrence Shankland, who’s scored three times in the Premiership, has just undergone hamstring surgery. Thelo Aasgaard netted on the opening night at Tannadice but is now on loan at Anderlecht. Youssef Chermiti is out of the picture after sustaining a serious knee injury.

In terms of striker options right now, McInnes can call upon Ryan Naderi and Miovski, one goal apiece in the league, plus Kevin Kelsy, who’s yet to get off the mark.

Rangers managed 18 efforts on Wednesday, seven of which were on target, and forced 12 corners. These are respectable numbers apart from the one that truly counts.

‘One goal was enough last night,’ the manager reflected. ‘One goal was enough against Motherwell, two goals were enough against Falkirk and one goal was enough against Aberdeen.

‘But it might not be against Celtic. So, we’ve got to recognise this and be ruthless and more instinctive with some of our attacking players.’

It’s a responsibility which the manager wants shared beyond those who are primarily responsible for finding the net. From middle to front, the supply lines must be stronger.

‘We’re very young at the forward line when you look at us,’ McInnes added. ‘A 22-year-old Naderi, 22-year-old Kelsy, 20-year-old Minsu Kim, 20-year-old (Findlay) Curtis, 21-year-old (Badredine) Bouanani.

‘So, we’ve got a lot of young players up there. I do think sometimes that last pass, that last decision, that last shot is something we need to take care of a wee bit more.

‘I think we’re arriving there time and time again, which has been a huge improvement in the last few games. We’re showing our ability to create chances, our ability to cause teams problems. But what we need to show is our ability to finish off good opportunities.’

McInnes wants his Rangers side to channel the energy of a partisan Ibrox crowd in cup clash

It feels like a lot of responsibility to rest on a lot of young shoulders. You’d imagine the frantic and unforgiving nature of Old Firm games is not exactly the ideal environment in which to learn on the job.

McInnes can give his young guns a rough idea of what to expect come Sunday, but he cannot hold their hands.

‘You can maybe speak about it in anticipation of the game and you can maybe show them clips of games and everything that unfolds with it,’ he said. ‘But I think sometimes these boys have just got to live it and enjoy it and thrive on it.

‘I think for any young player these are the types of games you want to play in and test yourself in.’

Once upon a time, he was in their shoes. McInnes played in four Old Firm games in the 90s, drawing one and winning three. So, what did it take to prevail?

‘Personality, confidence even before you go on the pitch,’ he replied. ‘Whenever I’ve managed teams and you’ve come up against Celtic and you’ve won games against them, I’ve always felt it was key that you went onto the pitch in a certain manner and you behaved in a certain manner and you carried yourself properly.

‘I feel there can’t be any hesitation, any doubt for my players. Obviously, discipline is important. You make sure you’re competitive and aggressive and show your intent but play within the laws and make sure you don’t get caught up in the fixture as well.

‘It’s easier said than done and normally in this fixture, when you think you’ve got time to play, you normally don’t and you’ve got to move the ball quickly and be ready for Celtic’s press, the intensity.

McInnes celebrates winning the 1999 Scottish Cup after a 1-0 victory over Celtic at Hampden

‘There’s a lot of duels to be won, there’s a lot of individual battles to be won. A bit of fire and ice at the right times can help matters.’

Rangers clearly must be mindful of the threat posed by the likes of Camilo Duran, but they cannot become consumed by it.

‘I think you’ve got to recognise some individual players in Celtic and you’ve got to try and negate those opportunities for them to have a big influence,’ the manager added.

‘Good players will always find some sort of influence, but it’s trying to make sure they don’t have as big an influence as they would like. But also, for us, I think it’s important that we take a lot of the good from recent performances, but we’ve got to capitalise on that.’

Only time will tell how significant Wednesday’s late, late show proves to be. Yet the atmosphere on and off the field at time up certainly felt a world away from the despondency that descended when McInnes’ side contrived to lose to Jablonec two weeks previously.

‘Yeah, lots of cuddles going on weren’t there?’ McInnes smiled. ‘I see a bunch of boys who are just desperate to do well. They’re really good around each other.

‘The dressing room in the last couple of weeks feels like a dressing room that I recognise and I want my team to be.’

It’s not been perfect. Far from it, in fact. But between Aberdeen, Falkirk, Motherwell and St Mirren, Rangers have put a winning run together.

McInnes admits Rangers rode their luck against St Mirren, with Fraser Taylor going close

Beat Celtic and book a return to Hampden and the minor details of those matches will be forgotten. It might just be the start of something.

‘I do think for a lot of new signings having a significant win against your biggest rivals in a cup tie can only do them good going forward,’ said McInnes.

‘I think the feel-good factor and the benefit you can get from that could be massive.

‘It’s a tough cup tie, but equally the fact that we’ve got it at Ibrox, we’re 90 minutes away from Hampden, we’re three games away from lifting silverware.

‘You’ve got to beat the good teams to win a trophy ordinarily and we’ve got a tough game, there’s no two ways about it.

‘But, equally, we’ve got to make it tough for Celtic as well. I think they’ll expect a tough match and that’s what we intend to give them.’