Barry sees a big opportunity with Celtic hosting Hearts on Sunday and has warned Derek McInnes' team they have to take advantage

Dundee away. At 8pm on a Saturday night. In mid October. Very probably in the pouring rain.

I’ve got to be honest, there have been many times over these last few years when the very idea of it would have made me feel a bit edgy as a Rangers fan. And, yes, even during my own short time as the Rangers manager.

It pains me to admit it, but I used to worry about games exactly like this because, somewhere deep down, I was never completely convinced that we could battle our way back out of a place like Dens Park, hanging on to all three points as if our lives depended upon it.

Hand on heart, I just wasn’t sure in my own mind that we had enough players who were strong enough - be that physically or mentally - to deal with what was going to be coming at them, if they didn’t get it all their own way out there on the pitch.

Don’t get me wrong, we had some very talented players inside that dressing room and I had complete faith in their ability to take care of the ball.

What worried me was their ability to react and to adapt to different circumstances that might be thrown at them. If the game got away from them and turned into a scrap, then I was always concerned that they could get overpowered.

Were they really prepared to roll up their sleeves and fight for one another? To dig their partner out of a hole, to cover for him and burst a gut for the shirt they were wearing? Were they as hungry and willing to do the hard yards out of possession as they were to look the part when the ball was at their feet?

I used to speak to them about it all of the time. I’d tell them that the Rangers fans would forgive them if they didn’t perform at their best levels in every game, just so long as they were willing to run through brick walls for the badge.

Anything less than that simply won’t be tolerated by the fans in the stands. It never has been and it never, ever will be.

It was the same back in my day when I was part of Dick Advocaat's side. That was probably one of the best footballing teams Rangers have had in recent times and it was rammed full of players with huge talent.

Ronald de Boer, Arthur Numan, Gio van Bronckhorst, Jorge Albertz, Claudio Reyna - what these guys could do with a football at their feet was different class. But, first and foremost, each and every one of them was prepared to work his backside off for the other.

And if they went to a place like Dens Park, Tynecastle, Pittodrie or Easter Road and couldn’t play the game they wanted to play for 90 minutes, then they were more than willing to match the size of the fight in their direct opponent.

I looked at these guys and thought to myself, ‘Wow! They really get it. They understand what it takes to play for this club,’.

And that’s a lesson I took with me. You can have all the flair and quality in the world but if you’re not prepared to put in the hard yards then you’re never going to make it as a Rangers player.

And, as much as I hate to say it, over these last few years that hasn’t always looked like it’s been the case.

But I’m starting to see signs of a very different Rangers side this season. And, while I never like to be complacent or overly confident, let’s just say I’m feeling much more relaxed and calm about their prospects travelling up to Tayside on Saturday night.

I think, for the first time in a long time, this Rangers team is physically and mentally ready to go to places like that now.

You’ve always got that nagging doubt in the back of your mind and you certainly have to respect Dundee because Big Elvis has got them flying and playing some really good stuff already this season in spite of a number of injuries.

But I’m just not as worried about it as I might have been before because, if it turns into a bit of a battle, I know that this set of players will be able to handle it.

That’s what I wanted to put in place more than anything when I was in charge. And Derek McInnes - who was also part of that squad under Advocaat - has clearly worked very hard along the exact same lines.

Perhaps previous Rangers managers never quite understood the importance of it. Maybe they couldn’t quite get their heads around what it takes to be successful in Scottish football.

Yes, you can have your own fixed ideas about how you want your team to play and what style of football you prefer.

But successful Rangers players have to be prepared to fight and scrap for every piece of silverware that they lift.

That’s the sense of togetherness I’m seeing in Del’s dressing room right now. That’s what has helped them turn things around in such a short space of time after a massively disappointing start to the season.

It’s why I’m confident they’ll find a way to chalk up an eight straight win on Saturday night. If it becomes all a bit up in the air and back to front, with individual battles all over the pitch, I genuinely don’t believe they’ll allow themselves to be pushed around or bullied.

I haven’t felt like that in a long time.

There’s a long way to go for this team before they can be compared to the successful Rangers sides of the past. There’s a whole lot more for these players to prove in the weeks and months ahead. They’ve achieved nothing yet.

But Saturday’s win over Kilmarnock has set them up nicely for a very important six game block before the next international break.

And what they have to do now is turn this seven game winning streak into eight and to make sure they are back at the top of the table when they get back to Glasgow on Saturday night.

Last season, if you remember, there were very few occasions when Rangers, Hearts and Celtic all won on the same weekend. That happened in the previous round of fixtures but it most certainly can’t happen again over these next couple of days, with Hearts going to Parkhead on Sunday afternoon.

That means somebody is going to suffer this weekend. And it simply can’t be Rangers - that’s the mentality they’ve got to have. That’s the attitude which might just make this season one the Rangers supporters will never forget.