JIM Duffy is looking for an ‘immaculate’ performance from his Morton side at Cappielow tonight as he reckons that is what is required for them to land another blow on Rangers.

The Ton managed a memorable 2-2 draw at Ibrox on 12 December, becoming the first Championship side to avoid defeat there this term.

Mark Warburton’s men went on to lose 2-1 away at Falkirk in their next outing, but they have been on a magnificent run of form since.

They followed up a 4-2 victory over title rivals Hibs with a series of convincing triumphs, hitting six against Dumbarton, five against Cowdenbeath and four against Livingston.

The Greenock men, therefore, host a Gers team firing on all cylinders, and Duffy insists his players will have to produce something approaching a perfect game to repeat the heroics of the last meeting.

Speaking exclusively to the Tele last night, he said: “It’s a fantastic game to look forward to, there’s no doubt about that.

“Rangers have been an exceptional side this year in the Championship and great credit to them in terms of how they play the game.

“They play a very expansive, very entertaining game, and they score an awful lot of goals, so it’s one of those games you have to be at your very best to have any chance of getting something.

“If you don’t understand and appreciate how tough the game is going to be it will be beyond you by the time you do; they’ll punish you.

“I mean, I think they’ve only lost twice in the league, 2-1 to Hibs and Falkirk, and they’ve played very well and their ‘goals for’ column is extensive.

“Let’s put things in perspective, Rangers’ resources, quality, strength in depth, infrastructure … everything about that football club is light years away from where we are as a football club. So it’s very unrealistic if people think you can just go and compete toe to toe with Rangers. That’s not a pessimistic attitude; it’s just stating facts. But it doesn’t mean you can’t go and give it everything you’ve got and work as hard as you can and make it difficult as you can.

“We know the level we’re going to have perform at to get a sniff. Every player knows they have to be right up for it and our concentration has to be immaculate really.

“We have to rise to that challenge, and it’s one as a manager I’m thoroughly looking forward to and I know one all the players are thoroughly looking forward to as well.

“If every part of our game is as good as it can be, we can make it difficult for Rangers and ask questions of them. If we’re off the pace, Rangers will totally dominate and win comfortably.”

Ton were off the pace at Alloa Athletic nine days ago in a match that was abandoned after 67 minutes due to heavy snowfall.

They were trailing 1-0 when referee Alan Muir called a halt, and Duffy has demanded nothing less than a significant improvement on that lacklustre display at the Indodrill Stadium.

He added: “At the time it was bitterly disappointing, and after the game you reflect on it and we weren’t sharp enough or as up to the task as we should have been. That was the disappointing thing. Normally, win, lose or draw, we are ultra-competitive, but I felt we were a bit off it on the day.

“We started the second half a little bit better, but generally speaking, I don’t know if was our worst performance of the season, but it certainly wasn’t our best, that’s for sure.

“From that, we relate to the players that they have to be at their best in every single game to have any chance of success.

“As much as you reinforce that to the players, sometimes when you come up against teams at the bottom, it doesn’t seep in until you’re in the middle of a battle.

"It’s then that they realise: ‘Wait a minute, this is a lot tougher than we thought’. We were losing 1-0 but we were still in the game — if you have a similar performance against Rangers then the game will be beyond you.

"They’ll severely punish you; the game will be dead and buried by the time you try and react to the situation. You won’t get a second chance to regroup and they’ll run out comfortable winners, which they’ve done against the vast majority of teams this season.”

Morton, however, have shown they are a side capable of competing with the league leaders on their day, and the Ton boss believes the players can draw inspiration from the December draw in Govan.

He added: “I think that game was an example of what I’ve said: if you are up for it and at your best and Rangers are a bit off the pace, which can happen, then you’ve got the chance of getting a result. I don’t think you can just replicate it, or say: ‘If we replicate that performance, we’ll automatically get a result.’ Football doesn’t work like that.

“But on that particular day, we did play very well and gave everything in the game to try and take something from it.

“We worked extremely hard and Rangers were slightly below their best; they still played well but they weren’t firing on all cylinders.

“They’re now back firing on all cylinders, there’s no question about that, so the test will be even tougher this time, and that’s the gauntlet thrown down to us.”

When the sides first met back in September, the Morton team that took to the field seemed fazed by their opponents and failed to do themselves justice as the Gers cruised to a 4-0 victory in Greenock.

But Duffy feels his players have overcome that initial fear factor and are now more at ease on this stage as they head into the third contest between the clubs.

He explained: “I think there is an ultra-respect you sometimes have for a team at the top level, especially when you haven’t played them for umpteen years.

“There’s a sharp intake of breath, a ‘wow, we’re playing Rangers today’ and then the TV, and you maybe do get a bit star-struck, for want of a better phrase, in the first game.

“But once you get that out of the way, you then realise that it’s a very, very good team – an exceptional team at times — but, nevertheless, still a game you can compete in. And the more you play against that sort of opposition, you become more comfortable in your surroundings, in that environment with the opposition, live TV and the big crowd.

“First time around it was unfamiliar to the vast majority of our players and I think it showed in the performance.

“Whereas second time around we had adjusted more to the league, and, although it was the first time at Ibrox and playing in front of over 40,000, they realised they deserved to be at that level.

“We were a wee bit more adjusted further down the line, and hopefully that can be the case again tonight.