Rangers 3 - 0 St Johnstone: Jury still out on Rangers until stiffer defences tried

Published on Sunday 13 December 2009 23:14

THE championship is highly unlikely to be won or lost when teams in the bottom half of the SPL come calling to Ibrox or Celtic Park. Now, Rangers' trip to Tannadice tomorrow night, that could be another matter...

Judgments require to be suspended when Walter Smith's men entertain patsies such as St Johnstone proved at the weekend. And judgments require to be suspended about precisely how much Kris Boyd has to offer when he is offered up gifts of goals against the generous backlines that lurk in the lower reaches of the Scottish top flight.

We know that his 30-second strike and his penalty, which made it 2-0 and game over inside 27 minutes, moved the striker to within five goals of Henrik Larsson's 158-goal SPL record. But we also know that of the 12 goals he has netted this season, only one has come against a top six side.

The next three weeks will provide Boyd with plentiful opportunities to improve upon that ratio. Across that period Rangers will only play other teams in the top six – United to be faced home and away, Motherwell visiting Ibrox on Saturday and both Hibs and Celtic hosting their title challengers at the turn of the year.

Defeating the Tannadice men tomorrow night would send Rangers top and Boyd, with a remarkable record of 14 goals in 14 games against United, could prove central to achieving that aim. And, with Smith dousing speculation that all manner of clubs are on his trail, the best Scottish finisher of the past two decades could yet be the key to Rangers retaining a title they must win to avoid going into financial meltdown.

So far, there has been little to choose between Rangers at Celtic on their home soil. They have both dropped four points courtesy of a 0-0 draw against a mid-table team – Rangers held by Aberdeen, Celtic by Motherwell – and a 1-1 draw against one of the fresh challengers – Rangers sharing the points with Hibs, Celtic with United – while they have been unconvincing on the road.

Teams don't seem to prove as accommodating in their own environs as St Johnstone did at Ibrox. Practically from kick-off Graham Gartland inexplicably passed straight to the impressive DaMarcus Beasley, who in turn set up Boyd. Just as inexplicable was the shortness of the pass-back from Steven Anderson to Graeme Smith 27 minutes later. The keeper then proved rash in clipping Nacho Novo. Another Rangers attacker who produced a good showing in the afternoon, the Spaniard followed up this penalty award with his team's third goal early in the second period.

Then it could have been any number, as Rangers enjoyed the sort of easy win that has so far entirely eluded them outside their own backyard. For all that Celtic have lost two away games to their rivals' one – their Ibrox derby defeat making the difference – they look as if they have more attacking variety to extricate them from tight spots in unfamiliar territory. Or Aiden McGeady, if you like.

In six away games, Rangers have drawn three blanks, but if they, and specifically Boyd, can improve upon their away form in the most testing circumstances these next three weeks, they could be on course. Of course, if the opposite proves true, they could be blown right off course.

Rangers' able goalkeeping deputy Neil Alexander is convinced the omens were all good at the weekend. "It was a great result for us and we could have doubled the score," he said. "We passed the ball really well and it's the best we've looked for a while. We controlled the game and never really felt under any real pressure. Hopefully we can take that up to Tannadice and go on and win that game."

Injury to Allan McGregor provided Alexander with his first league start of the season and he admits his second-choice status is beginning to leave him feeling torn. "It's extremely hard, especially at my age because I want to play," the 31-year-old said. "And having had a taste of playing at this club and the success I've had in a short period of time it makes it twice a hard to be sitting on the sidelines and not involved when the boys are winning.

"But I love being at the club. I feel its been the best time of my career, and my wife and kids are settled so you have to weigh everything up involved with being here. We have to wait to see what the future brings but there's only so long that I feel (I can continue like this] before I need to get back playing. If it's not here, then maybe I need to look somewhere else. But at the moment I'm really enjoying it here and have no complaints."

Alexander was in goal when Rangers won the league at Tannadice last May, was the keeper for their two recent Scottish Cup wins and appeared in the Uefa Cup final. He may have had a long period on the bench, but fate has allowed him to be a big occasion player and he has never let his club down. And, though it might appear fanciful, his reliability could yet be the means by which Smith is provided leverage to do some sort of squad freshening up. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that next month a good bid could come in for McGregor, something in the region of 3million. And although McGregor has been in superb form, Alexander's abilities means his loss would not necessarily be seriously felt, especially if it gave Smith a 1million transfer kitty.

MAN OF THE MATCH

DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers)

The pace and width offered by the American suggests he has been an under-used member of the Rangers squad this season.