Rangers played second fiddle to Sparta Prague for most of their Europa League clash in the Czech Republic before leaving with a point in a goalless draw.

Philippe Clement’s tenure as Gers boss began with a convincing 4-0 win over Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday but he had to rely on keeper Jack Butland to keep the home side at bay in the first half of the Group C match in which the visitors lacked zip.

There was a marked improvement in the final 20 minutes where Brazilian substitute Danilo hit the bar but Sparta will wonder how they did not win this game early on.

Rangers beat Real Betis 1-0 at Ibrox on match day one before a shock 2-1 defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus and are now on four points ahead of Sparta Prague’s visit to Ibrox on November 9, albeit Clement’s focus will first turn to the visit of Hearts on Sunday.

The new Gers boss will have learned more about his players in Prague then he did against Hibs at the weekend and he may have to reassess the way forward.

With Borna Barisic and Dujon Sterling injured and former Gers boss Michael Beale not including Ridvan Yilmaz in the European squad, Clement had no  natural left-back available and had to call on the services of centre-back Ben Davies and change to a back-three with prolific attacker Abdallah Sima playing left wing-back, while Scott Wright made way for fully-fit Todd Cantwell.

The visitors struggled with the change of system.

The Czech champions showed their intent early on and Butland had to makes two great saves within seconds after the ever-dangerous Veljko Birmancevic waltzed into the Gers box to get a shot away before Qazim Laci latched on to the rebound.

Hard-working Sparta were quick and fluid and as they continued to probe the Gers rearguard Laci volleyed just inches wide from the edge of the box uin the 20th minute.

Rangers were offering almost nothing going forward.

When Ibrox midfielder Nico Raskin carelessly gave possession away at the edge of the box on the half-hour mark Butland was required to make another save from Laci’s drive, then Birmancevic hit the side netting with a close-range effort .

Still Sparta kept coming and when Butland parried a powerful drive from Matej Rynes, Gers midfielder John Lundstram got in front of Birmancevic to deny him a tap-in from six yards.

Lundstram’s wayward shot before the break was the only effort on goal from Rangers who needed a vast improvement in the second half.

Dessers had a half chance when Cantwell’s inadvertent pass came over his shoulder in the Sparta box but he was too slow to react and keeper Peter Vindahl gathered easily.

However, the Czech side remained much more dangerous.

In the 55th minute Davies headed away an effort from Martin Vitik two yards from goal then Sparta striker Jan Kuchta missed the target from close range.

Wright took over from Cantwell and in the 72nd minute, as Rangers began to edge forward more, he fired high over the bar from the edge of the box, before Danilo took over from the ineffective Cyriel Dessers.

Rangers at last began to play.

Soon afterwards Vindahl made a good save from a Sam Lammers drive and then tipped a Danilo shot on to the crossbar to ensure the spoils were shared.

Philippe Clement believes immediate improvement is required from Rangers for their Europa League clash with Sparta Prague on Thursday night.

The Belgian began his tenure as Light Blues boss with a convincing 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday.

Clement was pleased enough with the first performance of his new team but will be looking for more in the Czech Republic as Rangers look to get back on the European track following the 2-1 loss to Aris Limassol earlier in the month.

The shock defeat in Cyprus negated a fine 1-0 home win over Spanish side Real Betis, with all four Group C sides on three points going into matchday three.

The Gers manager – without a natural left-back as Borna Barisic and Dujon Sterling are injured and Ridvan Yilmaz is not in the European squad – said: “We need to show a better level than on Saturday because this is a better team.

“They are really good on the ball, good quality players, good structure, good coach, and they are at home which is also different.

“So the whole team needs to be on their toes but I saw good signals in the last two days in training that everybody is up for a great European evening and you know in those evenings you need to be very focused, very concentrated and you need to take your moments.”

The former Belgium defender recalled a good night from two decades ago when he entered the Letna Stadium following the journey from Scotland.

A 1-0 win for the Red Devils in the 2002 World Cup finals play-off against the Czech Republic on November 14, 2001 booked Belgium’s place in South Korea and Japan with a 2-0 aggregate victory.

Asked about his wide European experience while at Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco, Clement said: “It is good to have experience and to know what are the important things in these evenings.

“It is also evenings I like and love, all the vibe around European games, different places, different stadiums.

“And I also had a really good feeling when I went on to the pitch .

“I said to Todd Cantwell when I came in the stadium I recognised the stadium because more than 20 years ago we qualified here with Belgium for the 2002 World Cup, so evenings like that are special.”

Clement, who played with Sparta Prague boss Brian Priske at Club Brugge, will have dig into his squad to plug the hole at left-back.

Barisic went off injured after 10 minutes against Hibs to be replaced by Yilmaz, left out of the European squad by former boss Michael Beale, and with Sterling also injured, right-back Adam Devine or centre-back Ben Davies may be called upon to do a job for the Govan side.

Clement was keeping his cards close to his chest but said: “I look for solutions and it will be another player who will not play in his normal position, to fill that position and do the job for the team.

“You can keep on being negative but someone needs to step in and help the team.

“We hope to get Borna back towards the weekend or at least next week. It is not really a big one but the timing is really bad because Ridvan is not on the list, a decision made before my time so I can’t do anything about that. Dujon is injured also a lot of things have come together.”

Cyriel Dessers believes Rangers will go from strength to strength after new boss Philippe Clement began his tenure with a 4-0 win over Hibernian on Saturday.

The Belgian took over the hot seat last Sunday and was given a huge ovation before the game, which provided instant encouragement for the Ibrox faithful.

Rangers played more direct and with tempo and got their rewards after 17 minutes when attacker Abdallah Sima scored his seventh goal in seven games with a fine finish.

Midfielder Nicolas Raskin doubled the lead just before the break with a drive from distance, Sima added a third in the 65th minute and Dessers got his close-range goal 10 minutes from time to complete a comprehensive win.

The 28-yearold Nigeria international told RangersTV:  “The manager wants us to play with energy and show it as well to the fans; high pressing, play aggressively and forward.

“We showed some bits of this, but there’s still a lot of growth left for us.

“I’m sure we’ll do that, and we’ll then be a team that is difficult to stop.

“It’s a part of the game that I like to do. I’m still growing to my best level, but this was a step towards it.

“I hope with the new energy inside the dressing room, with the new staff and the fans, that we can push on.”

Dessers praised substitute Todd Cantwell for setting him up for his goal which rounded off probably Rangers’ best performance of the season so far.

He said: “When Todd came on you could see his quality. I saw Tav (James Tavernier) making the run as he always does, and he pulled two defenders with him, so I became free at the last moment.

“It was an unbelievable pass from Todd to find me, I faked the shot, before putting it into the corner. I’m really happy about the goal.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable. The gaffer said at half-time that we had the fans behind us, that we need to keep up the energy, and we picked some early balls up in the second half and it got the crowd going.

“You can then see what’s possible at Ibrox and it was a nice afternoon to be playing with 50,000 people.”

A powerful Rangers performance ended the Easter Road side’s six-game unbeaten run – five under Nick Montgomery – and the Hibs boss said: “I genuinely thought we quietened them down at the start, played some good stuff, but the first goal is really important.

“After that it takes a bit of pressure off them, they get into the game a bit more. The second goal really did come at a time when we could have got back in the game.

“At 2-0 down, you have to come out and try to play. If you just sit back, you’re not going to score a goal.

“But we weren’t great in the final third. And a couple of sloppy mistakes at the back against clinical players cost us. That was the disappointing thing for me.”

Rangers have condemned the graffiti and stickers left in the away end at Ibrox after Saturday’s cinch Premiership match with Hibernian which mocked the disaster at the stadium in 1971.

Under 1,000 Hibs supporters were in attendance for the 4-0 defeat and when they left it emerged that some seats had been defaced with the number 66.

The 1971 Ibrox disaster was a crush among the crowd at a Rangers v Celtic game which led to 66 deaths.

There were also photographs of stairway 13, where the disaster occurred, stuck on the seats, with the images accompanied by the words, “Stairwell Thirteen – it’s the greatest sight that I have ever seen”.

Graffiti also mocked the death of Queen Elizabeth II and supported the IRA.

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers condemns in the strongest possible terms the graffiti and stickers left by a section of the Hibernian supporters at Ibrox this afternoon.

“The Ibrox disaster remains the darkest day in our club’s history, and continues to affect a number of families to this day.

“The mocking and celebration of such an event is outrageous, and has no place in any football stadium or society as a whole.

“Rangers will be pleased to work with Hibernian to identify those responsible.”

A Hibernian FC spokesperson said: “Hibernian FC is aware of the intolerable graffiti and stickers found in the away end at Ibrox today and condemns the behaviour of the individuals that were involved.

“The club will work with Rangers to identify those responsible and will take the most serious action possible against anyone involved.

“If any Hibernian FC supporter has any information that could assist the club to help identify these individuals, they should contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and the information provided will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.”

Philippe Clement stated that he is “not Harry Potter” as he warned Rangers fans not to expect too much too soon against Hibernian on Saturday.

The 49-year-old Belgian took over as boss at Ibrox on Sunday following the departure of Michael Beale and inherited a seven-point gap between the Light Blues and cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Jose Cifuentes returned from international duty with Ecuador with a knock and Tom Lawrence and Rabbi Matondo remain out.

Midfielders Ryan Jack and Todd Cantwell are back in the squad although the latter, along with attacker Kemar Roofe, is not fit for 90 minutes. Brazilian striker Danilo, who is recovering from a severe facial injury, is available again.

The former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss referenced Potter, the young wizard from novels written by British author JK Rowling, as he spoke about the visit of Hibs.

“I hope they see a difference but I am not Harry Potter with the magic stick who can change everything suddenly,” said Clement.

“It doesn’t work that way. It is a tough balance coming in during a season and it is not the first time, it was the same at Genk and Monaco.

“When you come in during the season you have to analyse what is good and what can be better and then prioritise the most important things to make better this week and the next week because if I try to do everything at one moment I kill the players.

“So it needs to be step by step. It is about analysing everything, the way I want to implement things.

“It is never perfect from the beginning. That is impossible but I see the good intentions, in staff and with the players, and the international players are now back in the last two days. I am looking forward to the first game and seeing how fast the little seeds we have planted will grow.

“I see a lot of good things here but a lot of things we need to make better and we need to focus on that now and make them better.

“I know a game is different from training, there is another atmosphere and tension so I don’t expect the perfect game tomorrow.

“I expect there will be things that go wrong but how you react at those moments is important and that they are open to learning and make it better and better.”

Stephan van der Heyden was earlier confirmed as Clement’s assistant.

The 54-year-old, who first worked with Clement in 2011 at Club Brugge, was most recently assistant at Kerala Blasters in India and has also coached in Belgium, Macedonia and Jordan.

Van der Heyden told the club’s official website: “I am looking forward to this challenge, it will be a big one but I think it is a great club.

“One of the most beautiful things about football is that you meet different people and different cultures, not only football culture but cultures in general.

“One thing in common is the supporters, they all expect the best from the team. The first impressions are good, I’m sure we can do something here and we can achieve something together.”

New Rangers boss Philippe Clement is determined to build a dressing room of winners at Ibrox but acknowledges that he is no football magician.

The 49-year-old became the 19th permanent manager of the Govan club following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month.

After playing at Genk and Club Brugge, Clement won the Belgian Pro League as a manager with both teams but he inherits a Light Blues side who are currently seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders and defending champions Celtic.

Speaking at Ibrox, Clement said: “I want to win everything. That’s the mentality when I step into a building, I want to give this mentality also towards the dressing room and create more and more winners in this dressing room.

“So we’re going to work really hard to get silverware as fast as possible and to make this story step by step, bigger and bigger.

“How fast it comes? You never know I don’t have this crystal ball.

“Also I’m not a magician that suddenly can totally change players. But I know if we can work a long time with players that we can make them better.”

Clement will give players a chance to impress before he considers changes in the January transfer window.

He said: “I’m also somebody who likes to see first, what is the potential that is there already.

“I’m not somebody who wants 10 new players every year and say, ‘OK, this one and this one is not good enough’.

“I’m somebody who likes to invest in people, who wants to find the key to get the best out of them.

“So we need to use the next weeks, months to do that in the best way.

“So all the players with me – maybe not with some fans, and that’s a little bit pity maybe – everybody starts with a white page.

“Everybody has the chances also until January to prove themselves, to show that they are really good players that they want to be on the pitch, that they want to make the difference for the club, that they want to give everything. And then we will see.”

Chief executive James Bisgrove’s next job will be to appoint a director of football.

He said: “Certainly in the next few weeks, if not months, we’re having live conversations at the moment.

“There are variables in that depending on the individuals that the board believes and the football board and Philippe feel has the best fit. But I believe it will be imminent.

“It’ll be a club board appointment that Phillipe will absolutely be part of that process and will meet whoever we bring in before we take that decision.

“And that person when they come in will add additional value, expertise and leadership to the recruitment function.

“We’ve currently got John Park as the chief scout at the top of that division.

“We’ve made some changes to the scouting function recently. We’ve modernised that in terms of some of the processes, additional emphasis on data and video analysis.

“And we’ve been I think, more strategic and focused on how we’ve set that up.

“Phillipe would have some strong views on that as well. But it’s a decision that the board will take in terms of the long-term football strategy and someone to complete that football board that’s already in existence to make sure we’ve got really robust processes around the decision-making that we take right across the football department.”

Rangers have confirmed the appointment of Philippe Clement as their new manager.

The 49-year-old arrives at Ibrox following the departure of Michael Beale at the start of the month.

After playing at Genk and Club Brugge, Clement has won the Belgian Pro League as a manager with both teams and had Champions League experience with Brugge.

Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish believes anybody taking the reins at Ibrox faces a tough job to meet fans’ demands and must be aware of the issues around recruitment.

Michael Beale was sacked after losing three of the opening seven cinch Premiership games after many of his nine summer signings struggled to hit the ground running.

Former Rangers player Kevin Muscat and Belgian Philippe Clement appear to be the front-runners as the club close in on a new appointment.

Back in Glasgow to promote Viaplay’s coverage of Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Spain, McLeish said: “It’s a tough job, to get Rangers up to a level that the fans expect.

“We know that you can get managers coming in and resurrecting the situation, but it’s a tough job for anybody. And if the recruitment is not right it makes it even more difficult. I even suffered it during my days at Rangers as well.

“The players that are currently there were trusted. The algorithms, the analysts have said they are the right guys for it. Now somebody has to get the best out of it.

“If Philippe or Kevin are good at that kind of management then that’s something they must be aware of, anybody taking this job at Rangers.”

McLeish managed Muscat at Ibrox and has watched him develop as a coach over the years.

The 50-year-old worked under Ange Postecoglou before succeeding him at Melbourne Victory and, after a spell at Sint-Truidense in Belgium, also replaced the same man at Yokahama F Marinos when his former mentor went to Celtic.

McLeish said: “I have kept in touch with Muscy over the years. He is a good lad. When he was in Belgium, some journalists kept in touch with me and said he was doing well.

“I wanted to see his progress and, with Postecoglou doing so well coming to these shores, then Australian coaches are going to be looked at very closely, and especially with Kevin’s association with Rangers.”

Like McLeish, Clement is a former Genk manager. The 49-year-old won three Belgian titles in a row from 2019, first with Genk and then twice with Club Brugge, and was most recently manager of Monaco.

“I knew of Philippe,” the former Scotland manager said. “He will definitely have the right mentality having that success behind him. He is confident enough and young enough to come and take the lead.

“Again, has he got the right recruitment or can he improve the players, take the players who are there with his style of play or managerial skills? Or do Rangers have to look for more money for other players?

“I guess he will have an idea about bringing certain players as well if Philippe is the man that’s coming.”

McLeish feels the appointment of a sporting director is also crucial, with Rangers without one since Ross Wilson departed in April.

“A sporting director who knows the world of football, who knows if there are shrewd signings out there,” McLeish added.

“Back in the day we didn’t quite have the money, we got free transfers, (Jean-Alain) Boumsong from Auxerre, Dado Prso from Monaco. When you bring in gems like that, you have to be aware of all those players.

“Nowadays the computer-based analysts are doing the work for the manager.”

:: Alex McLeish was promoting Viaplay’s live and exclusive coverage of Spain v Scotland. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.

Nicolas Raskin believes Rangers are “good enough” to recover from a nightmare start to the season to win the league.

Interim boss Steven Davis guided the Ibrox side to a 3-0 win at St Mirren on Sunday as they went into the international break seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

The former Gers midfielder, who was continuing his rehab from a knee injury at the Govan club after his contract expired in the summer, took over last weekend after Michael Beale departed following the 3-1 home defeat to Aberdeen.

Davis’ first game in charge was an embarrassing 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night  – Rangers had already lost their Champions League play-off to PSV Eindhoven – and in Paisley some Rangers fans unveiled banners early in the game which read ‘heartless, passionless, leaderless; not fit to wear our colours’.

A double from skipper James Tavernier, the first from the spot in the 29th minute after Saints’ Ryan Strain was sent off for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity, and an Abdallah Sima strike in between gave the Gers much needed respite.

Noting that players such as Todd Cantwell, Danilo, Rabbi Matondo, Kieran Dowell and Tom Lawrence are working their way back to fitness, Raskin, who along with striker Kemar Roofe has only recently returned to action following a knock, was positive when asked if the Light Blues were good enough to win the title.

The 22-year-old midfielder said: “Are we good enough? Of course we’re good enough.

“We’ve got like six or seven players out injured, so it’s been a hard time.

“But now people are going to come back soon hopefully. We have to look forward and work hard. We’re still early in the season and we have to do our job on the park.

“We all know that we’re coming from a hard time. The last two games before Sunday were difficult for the team.

“We’ve got a lot of injuries too so it was important to turn this situation around before the international break.

“I think we played well. We tried to play as a team, to go forward and make some runs in behind St Mirren.

“Now we just have to work well and build on Sunday’s performance over the next few games because we have some important fixtures coming up.

“We have to stick together and work hard as that’s the only way to go forward and to achieve something good.”

Asked about the banner, and if the Rangers players were up for the fight, Raskin, signed from Standard Liege in January, said: “I don’t think it was down to a lack of effort.

“In football sometimes you try to do things, but sometimes it just doesn’t work for this or that reason.

“We haven’t got to the level we want to be at as a team, but we’ve also had some moments go against us.

“We have to look forward, focus on the next game and try to find the confidence by working hard together.

“Then it’s about going game after game, trying to give our best. Then it will come. I’m sure it will come because we have quality.”

Raskin was signed by Beale and described his departure last weekend as a “bit sad for everybody”.

Former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss Philippe Clement has been linked with the manager’s job at Ibrox, with an appointment set to be made during the international break.

Raskin said: “I don’t know him personally, but he did very well with the two teams he had in Belgium.

“And he also did incredibly well at Monaco.

“I think he’d bring some clarity and an attacking style, so I think he’d be good.”

It was another weekend of intrigue in the cinch Premiership.

Saturday saw a thrilling Edinburgh derby with wins for Celtic and Livingston while Steven Davis got his first win as interim Rangers boss on Sunday, as St Johnstone and Aberdeen fought out a stalemate.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

Rangers fans demonstrate their despair again

Rangers players have become used to the sound of boos from their own supporters this season and the embarrassing 2-1 Europa League defeat against Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night was a low point. Early in the cinch Premiership match at St Mirren on Sunday, some Gers fans unravelled banners which read ‘heartless, passionless, leaderless; not fit to wear our colours’ which left no one in doubt as to their frustration. Skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 29th minute after Saints’ Ryan Strain was handed a red card by referee Nick Walsh for handball. Further goals from attacker Abdallah Sima and Tavernier gave Rangers a 3-0 win and took them into second place, seven points behind leaders Celtic going into the international break where a new boss is likely to be appointed.

St Johnstone scrap for point at Aberdeen

It has not been a good season so far for Steven MacLean and his St Johnstone side. Sitting bottom of the table, a trip to Aberdeen might have been a daunting prospect. However the Perth side fought hard to keep a clean sheet and were well worth a point. Despite remaining bottom and still waiting for their first league win, MacLean was happy with the point and will hope a radical change in fortune is on its way

Luis Palma is finding his groove

The Honduran winger arrived at Celtic Park from Greek side Aris just ahead of the deadline and has made major strides over the past two weeks. The 23-year-old whipped in a late goal against Motherwell, was denied another late effort by VAR against Lazio and on Saturday smashed home a brilliant strike in Celtic’s 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock.

Nick Montgomery’s Hibernian side have resilience

The head coach stretched his unbeaten start to five matches in unlikely fashion following a poor first-half display at Tynecastle. “Hibs, Hibs are falling apart, again,” sang the home fans after Christian Doidge’s own goal put their side two up but Elie Youan soon scored twice in 83 seconds to seal a 2-2 draw. The winger had been handed an ultimatum to improve or be taken off at half-time and Montgomery was still making demands of his side to get forward in stoppage-time rather than settle for a point.

Motherwell in hot water?

New Livingston owner John McIlvogue set up a deal for every fan to get a free hot drink for braving the wet weather and they would have needed it to keep them warm amid an uneventful first 45 minutes. The game changed in stoppage-time though when Lennon Miller was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity and Livingston capitalised on their man advantage as goals from Bruce Anderson and Sean Kelly earned a 2-0 win. Livingston have now lost just once in 12 home games while Motherwell have lost four games in succession, although there will be no panic at Fir Park considering the difficulty of the tasks and nature of defeats.

Steven Davis believes Rangers’ 3-0 win at St Mirren was a “step in the right direction” for the managerless Ibrox club.

The former Gers midfielder, whose contract had expired in the summer but was continuing his rehab from a knee injury at the club, took up the reins on an interim basis last weekend after Michael Beale departed following the 3-1 home defeat by Aberdeen.

Davis’ first game in charge was an embarrassing 2-1 Europa League defeat against Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night.

Some Rangers fans unravelled banners early in the game in Paisley which read ‘heartless passionless leaderless; not fit to wear our colours’ before skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 29th minute after Saints’ Ryan Strain was shown a red card by referee Nick Walsh for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Attacker Abdallah Sima stroked in a second in the 70th minute and Tavernier hammered in a third in the 90th minute as Rangers leapfrogged Stephen Robinson’s side into second place, seven points behind leaders Celtic going into the international break where a new manager is likely to be appointed.

“Robbo has them really well organised so we are delighted to come here, keep a clean sheet and score three goals,” said Davis, who revealed 17-year-old debutant Zak Lovelace had to come off in the first half with a hamstring complaint.

“It is a step in the right direction, going into the international break.

“It was important to come here as a group, and the fans as well, and win.

“There is still a long way to go but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

“We have to take the positives out of today. But we will not get ahead of ourselves. It is only a small step to where we want to go but it is a positive step and I’m sure the players will take some belief from it.”

On the fan banner, Davis said: “People are entitled to their opinion. Players share the same frustration as the fans.

“Obviously we get the opportunity as staff and players to change things on the pitch.

“This is not where I wanted to be as I wanted two positive results from the two games.

“But I just thanked them for their effort and their desire. It is not easy with a quick turnaround after Thursday night.

“I couldn’t have asked any more from them in terms of what they have given me.”

On his own future, the Northern Irishman said: “I really don’t know. My remit was to come and take these two games, first and foremost.

“Now it gives the club and the board an opportunity to get someone in place.

“Up to this point I’ve continued my rehab and need to make a decision in terms of that on whether I play on or not.

“I have always thought that down the line I would go into management.

“This opportunity came out of the blue and it has been a steep learning curve.

“I think I have learned a lot over the two games. I have had a lot of support in terms of the staff behind me and in the building.

“That has been massive for me and for the players as well.”

St Mirren boss Robinson had no complaints about Strain’s red card for handling the ball near the line which proved so pivotal in what was his first league defeat of the season.

He said: “I thought we were excellent to start with. The red card changes the whole game.

“People have to make decisions in the game. It’s just a reaction from him. It’s a poor decision – we know that – and the referee gets it 100 per cent correct.

“I was miles away and thought at first it had hit a Rangers hand but obviously it didn’t. But it’s definitely a sending-off.

“If you go 1-0 down with 11 men we’re still right in the game. We’re playing really well. But the red card changes it completely.”

Rangers gave themselves some much-needed respite with a 3-0 cinch Premiership win over 10-man St Mirren in Paisley.

Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis began his spell as caretaker manager with an embarrassing 2-1 Europa League defeat against Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night and there was a sense of foreboding about the trip to the SMiSA stadium.

Some Rangers fans unravelled banners early in the game which read ‘heartless passionless leaderless; not fit to wear our colours’ before skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 29th minute after Saints’ Ryan Strain was handed a red card by referee Nick Walsh for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Attacker Abdallah Sima added a second in the 70th minute for his seventh goal of the season before Tavernier smashed in a third in the 90th minute as the Light Blues leapfrogged Stephen Robinson’s side into second place, seven points behind leaders Celtic but the prospects of a genuine title race is another thing altogether.

Rangers will appoint a new boss during the international break and the Ibrox club clearly need fresh ideas, strategy and motivation going forward.

The only radical change Davis made to the team was to give a first senior start to 17-year-old attacker Zak Lovelace – he would go off injured in the first half – with John Souttar, Jose Cifuentes and Kemar Roofe also coming into a fragile Ibrox outfit.

Defender Richard Taylor and striker Toyosi Olusanya were reinstated into the Buddies side who clearly fancied their chances but there was little between the teams in the opening exchanges.

In the 21st minute St Mirren defender Scott Tanser, who signed a new deal until 2026 on Saturday, found himself alone at the back post from a Conor McMenamin free-kick but blasted his shot over the bar.

Rangers, however, would soon take the lead.

Lovelace found space on the right and blasted the ball across goal with Strain appearing to knock it away from in-rushing Sima with his hand.

After a long VAR check, referee Walsh checked his pitch-side monitor, sent off the St Mirren player and awarded a penalty to the visitors which Tavernier converted to the ire of the home supporters.

In the 34th minute Goldson met a Borna Barisic corner with his head but Buddies keeper Zach Hemming acrobatically tipped the effort over the bar and the home side ultimately escaped.

In the 41st minute Lovelace limped off the field and was eventually taken away from the sidelines on a stretcher, after being replaced by Ross McCausland.

In added time, the 20-year-old knocked a Barisic pass down to Nico Raskin inside the St Mirren box but the midfielder’s goal-bound drive was blocked by Hemming for a corner, which came to nothing.

There was no immediate improvement from Rangers in the second half and striker Cyriel Dessers replaced the anonymous Roofe on the hour-mark, while Saints soon brought on Mikael Mandron, Alex Greive and Caolan Boyd-Munce.

Rangers doubled their lead in the 70th minute with an unusually swift break, Tavernier sending Raskin scampering through the middle with a first time pass and he squared for Sima, on loan from Brighton, to beat Hemming from close range.

St Mirren were on their way to the first league defeat of the season.

Dessers ran clean through in the 86th minute only to have his unconvincing drive saved by Hemming but there was time for Tavernier to thrash in a second from the edge of the box, after his first effort was blocked, a fine goal out of keeping with the most of the game.

Scott Tanser revealed it took only hours to agree a two-year contract extension that keeps him at St Mirren until the summer of 2026.

The 28-year-old wing-back joined Saints in June 2021 and has made 85 appearances for Stephen Robinson’s outfit.

Tanser, whose original deal was due to expire at the end of the season, told stmirren.com of how the new contract was quickly concluded.

He said: “It was very easy. When I say it was done within hours I’m not exaggerating. I had a chat with the manager and Jim Gillespie (vice chairman) in the morning and the deal was done by the afternoon. I’m happy here.

“The team is good, the staff are good and the whole club is together as a whole. It’s been amazing and the club has been amazing for me as well so extending my deal is great for me and my family.

“I’m really enjoying it and playing well so hopefully that continues.”

Robinson described Tanser’s new contract as “very good business” for the Paisley club.

Ahead of the visit of Rangers on Sunday, he said: “I think Scott has arguably been the best left-back in the league this season.

“It’s important that we do our business early and we recognise when people are doing well. I’m delighted that Scott has committed himself to the club for another two seasons.

“The amount of confidence he’s playing with when fans have really got behind him is a lesson for all of us. Sometimes people need an arm round them.

“His ability is undeniable. He’s a brilliant athlete and he’s been terrific for us this season.

“The board appreciate that we are trying to keep building and we’re not making 10-plus signings each season. That’s the way we are trying to do our business.

“I believe it’s very good business and hopefully there’s more to come in the coming weeks.”

Connor Goldson says Rangers have to target nothing less than victory at St Mirren on Sunday.

The Ibrox club and their fans are still reeling from the 2-1 Europa League defeat to Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night.

An embarrassing loss to the Cypriot champions came days after boss Michael Beale departed following a dismal defeat to Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Light Blues trailing cinch Premiership leaders Celtic by seven points after only seven fixtures.

Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis took over the hot seat on an interim basis and will be in charge again for the trip to Paisley to play second-place Saints, who are unbeaten in the league this season.

Goldson acknowledged the significance of the game and knows three points is the only option for the Govan side, who have lost three of their seven league games and failed to qualify for the Champions League after losing in the play-offs to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.

The 30-year-old defender said: “Every game of football is important to us.

“We have to win. It is the demands of Rangers football club and we need to go there and win the game of football.

“We have to recover as quickly as possible and go to St Mirren and win the game.”

There was no improvement in Davis’ first game in charge of Rangers and Goldson looked back at Beale’s departure as he assessed the way forward for the Ibrox side.

He said: “It is one of those things (Beale leaving). It is our fault. We are not performing on the football pitch.

“The manager has obviously taken the blame for that and  lost his job.

“Davo (Davis) comes in, we all have so much respect for him but we haven’t done the job again.

“We as individuals, as a team, need to sit down and look at ourselves, first – are you doing everything you can to make this club better?

“You don’t pick up results at this football club, it is a tough place to play.

“If you do pick up results, then it is best place to play so we need to turn it around very quickly.

“We speak all the time. But there is enough speaking going on. We need to get on that pitch and start performing better as a team.”

Meanwhile, it has been widely reported that the Ibrox club will hold final interviews for the vacant managerial post next week but former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will not be involved.

Former Rangers player and current Yokohama F Marinos boss Kevin Muscat, AZ Alkmaar manager Pascal Jansen, former Monaco boss Phillipe Clement and former Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner, are among others who have been linked with the job.

Interim boss Steven Davis insists he retains confidence in the Rangers squad as he called for unity following the 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

The former Light Blues midfielder was asked to take over after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the 3-1 loss Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Gers seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Rangers had beaten Real Betis in their Group C opener at Ibrox but found the Cypriot side too much, losing the first goal after nine minutes to defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda.

Striker Shavy Babicka added a second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men but the visitors could not complete the comeback.

Ahead of the trip to St Mirren on Sunday, Davis said: “I still believe we have some real quality players. Obviously, confidence has been hit.

“You go through these periods in your career and it’s a really difficult moment.

“As I say by sticking together you make sure to do the basics right in terms of hard work and application which they have been doing.

“It’s important we continue that and things will turn because I believe in the qualities of the squad.

“We’ll get players back which will help. The most important thing is right now is us being a group together.

“It was a really difficult night because we felt a real opportunity to come here and build on the Betis game.

“I think we caused a lot of our own problems in the game. Obviously, with the two goals we give away we’re really disappointed with and when that happens you have a mountain to climb.

“Firstly I’ve got to take some responsibility. In the first half we kept trying to play in the middle of the pitch when it wasn’t really on, they were good at getting transitions from that with the pace they had up front which caused us problems all night.

“Whenever you go behind in a second half you must throw some caution to the wind at certain points.

“We tried to simplify the game really, trying to get the ball in behind, get it wide and cross the ball into the box and ultimately we didn’t do enough to take something from the game.

“In terms of the effort of the players, I thought they tried to keep going till the end and in terms of the energy they put in, I couldn’t ask for any more in that respect.

“There wasn’t a lack of effort, we’d never question that from the dressing room but it is a really difficult moment that everyone is in.

“When that happens you maybe start to make the wrong decision and things like that.

“Sunday’s coming up and it’s a really quick turnaround. We’re hurting from tonight but it’s important as a group we stick together.”