Rangers are looking to close the gap on the top two in the Scottish Premiership, currently sitting behind third-placed St Mirren only on goal difference after a strong opening spell from the Paisley club under head coach Craig McLeish, who was recently named Premiership manager of the month for August.
McLeish, who has introduced a more expansive playing style at St Mirren, downplayed suggestions that the club's rapid progress had come as a surprise to those inside the building. "I'm not surprised it's come together so quickly - I get that from the outside it might look like that," he said. "There's an internal belief about what we're doing and the work we can do on the pitch. It could have been even better and we were close to it being even better."
Despite their promising campaign, St Mirren have already tasted a heavy defeat to Rangers this season, having been well beaten at Ibrox in the Premier Sports Cup. Left-back James Penrice was among the standout performers in that tie, scoring and providing an assist on his Rangers debut. He has retained his starting spot in every match since, alongside central defenders Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez, whose occasional lapses have not stopped the back line from stabilising results in recent weeks.
Rangers' latest league outing saw them comfortably see off Motherwell at Ibrox, with several missed chances denying them an even more emphatic scoreline. That victory followed wins over Aberdeen and Falkirk, continuing a run that manager McInnes believes is building genuine momentum, even if the pressure to deliver silverware remains constant. "I don't think that ever lifts until you've got a trophy in your hand," McInnes said. "But I do think there's been a good feel about the place. What we have had in recent weeks is just small steps, encouragement, confidence levels."
Rangers will also have to adapt following the loss of Lawrence Shankland to injury, just as the striker appeared to be finding his scoring form. That could push new arrival Kevin Kelsy into first-team duty sooner than expected. Historically, Rangers have had the upper hand over St Mirren in the league, winning the last two meetings by a single goal, though the Buddies had gone unbeaten in four previous encounters before that run. St Mirren will be missing Paul Nsio for the visit, as he is ineligible to face his parent club - a potential blow given Rangers dominated midfield in last month's cup meeting.
Meanwhile, league leaders Celtic had to dig deep for their win away at St Mirren over the weekend, with Yang Hyun-jun scoring the decisive goal in an otherwise underwhelming display from the champions. The South Korean winger is now away on international duty with the Asian Games squad, forcing manager Martin O'Neill to reshuffle his attacking options. Camilo Duran, in fine form with three goals and two assists in his last three appearances as a makeshift centre-forward, could keep his place, potentially opening a route into the side for on-loan Chelsea striker Shim Mheuka. Sebastian Tounekti remains another option to fill the void left by Yang, while Kasper Hogh and Kieran Tierney are both back in contention after short injury layoffs.
Celtic's next challenge comes against a resurgent St Johnstone side chasing a third consecutive win at McDiarmid Park. O'Neill praised the Perth club's approach, drawing comparisons with St Mirren's system under McLeish. "They want to play football as well and they're committed," O'Neill said. "There's a vitality about them which is very encouraging. Not dissimilar in many aspects to what Craig McLeish is doing at St Mirren."
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari acknowledged his side would need fortune on their side to continue their strong home form against the champions. "We need to do our football things so well, then at the same time, we need to earn our luck, because against Celtic, if you want to beat them, you need to be a little bit lucky in some moments," the Finnish coach said.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.