Lee McCulloch admits the race for the Clydesdale Bank Premier League crown could go to the wire - but insists Rangers are still favourites for the trophy despite Wednesday night's Old Firm defeat.

A last-gasp winner from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink secured a crucial victory for Celtic after Nacho Novo had cancelled out Shunsuke Nakamura's opener and Scott McDonald missed a penalty for the Parkhead side.

A draw would have been almost as good as a win for Rangers, who looked set to to hold on for the point after Carlos Cuellar's dismissal with 20 minutes to go.

But the SPL leaders were hit with a sucker-punch deep into injury time, allowing Celtic to slash their lead at the summit to a single point.

Asked whether the balance of power is still in Rangers' favour, McCulloch insisted: "You could say that because we still have the games in hand and we are a point ahead of them.

"But there is a long way to go and no-one in the Rangers dressing room is getting carried away.

"It could go to the wire. It will be a big game when we come back here but we'll know what to expect and we'll definitely be up for it."

Both teams meet again at Celtic Park on April 27 and Celtic could have the psychological edge after Thursday night's result.

But McCulloch said: "They might look at it that way but we know what we have to do. Our heads won't go down just because we have lost in the last minute."

But the Ibrox midfielder knows a better performance, especially in the first half, will be required when they return to the east end of Glasgow.

"In the first half they were the better team and passed the ball a bit better," he admitted.

"They passed the ball better but they out-fought and out-battled us as well, which was strange for the current Rangers side.

"But we came in at half-time, re-grouped, and the manager had a few words to say.

"We went out in the second half and drastically improved and it was just a bit of bad luck that cost us.

"They scored the goal and have taken the points but it's not the end of the world."

With Cuellar suspended for the next Old Firm clash, Rangers are also sweating over the fitness of McCulloch and goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who both sustained ankle injuries at Parkhead.

McGregor, in fine form throughout the season, was forced to hobble out of the action late on.

Rangers remain in the hunt for four trophies and need all their key players at their disposal but McCulloch refused to panic.

He said: "The manager has a big squad and we have a lot of games to go so everybody will be used.

"I don't think we have any complaints about not having people fit. We have a big enough squad, and a good enough squad. Tonight we were just a little bit unlucky but we will battle on."

The end of the match was marred by a melee involving both sets of players, which looks set to see David Weir and Gary Caldwell earn suspensions after being hauled into referee Kenny Clark's room afterwards.

"I don't know anything about it," said McCulloch of the scrap at the final whistle.

"I tried to split a few people up but I honestly don't know what happened. I was just trying to get into the dressing room as quickly as possible."

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