Rangers 0-0 Motherwell: Celebration of survival at Ibrox

It was a subdued parading of players, many of whom, such as Sasa Papac, who confirmed his departure this week, were waving goodbye to their playing days at Rangers.

There was no silverware to parade, not a match-day victory, not even a goal. What they were celebrating was survival.

It was probably fitting that the final match of the season in front of the Ibrox crowd was one which ultimately meant nothing. All that was at stake was pride. It’s just the way it has been for most of what has been a horrible season for the Govan club.

Rangers’ midweek win over Dundee United had already secured them the SPL runners-up position while also guaranteeing Motherwell third place and the Champions League qualifier slot which administration has denied their hosts. Which meant this was the equivalent of a victory lap for Stuart McCall’s men, while Rangers used the match as an opportunity to thank the fans who have rallied round since the financial mess they were in became public and began to impact on their season.

But while the fans have claimed they “don’t do walking away”, a major chunk of the playing squad, which was forced to take wage cuts to ensure the club could see out the season, will now do exactly that. This was the final hurrah in front of the home support for many of the big earners, who will now spend the summer finding themselves new employers; ones who are not too hamstrung by points deductions or financial restraints to offer them a chance of success and a hefty wage packet.

They would have preferred to bow out with a victory, though. And it would have served as a more welcome gesture than the announcement that they will be retiring the No.12 shirt at the end of the term in deference to the club’s 12th man.

This was a fixture that Rangers have become used to triumphing in. Of the last seven meetings between these clubs, the Ibrox side have skooshed all seven, scoring 27 goals and conceding just three.

But the strength of Motherwell is greater than the sum of their parts. Their manager says that is why, despite finishing best of the rest, his men have not featured in the list of nominees for the various Player of the Year awards. It is also why they have managed to perform more consistently as a unit than the majority of the other teams in the league, despite the limited size of the squad and player budget. And having surpassed all their other targets for the season, in terms of record points haul and subsequent rewards, the only target was to show that they could perform against the only two sides above them in the table.

So far they had been pointless in all their head to heads with the Old Firm sides this term, yesterday they rectified that. And it was Motherwell who made the first steps towards trying to break the deadlock. In the sixth minute Chris Humphrey fed it into Henrik Ojamaa in the centre but his shot on the turn was saved by McGregor. Less than a minute later Rangers responded when they broke upfield courtesy of Sone Aluko but when Lee McCulloch unleashed the shot, Tom Hateley blocked.

The end-to-end nature of those opening minutes was a prelude for more of the same as the match wore on and neither team took total control or full advantage of the chances that did come their way.

The inconsistency which has dogged the home side this term again reared its head and as impressive as they were on Wednesday night, they were lethargic yesterday, as though the trials of the campaign had finally taken their toll, the energy and the emotion drained from them. A raft of youngsters were employed in a precursor of what may lie ahead for the club but they lacked the attacking guile of elder statesmen such as Steven Davis and Steven Naismith.

Kyle Bartley, McCulloch and Aluko had chances in the first half, the best coming in the 43rd minute when Maurice Edu’s long ball picked out Aluko, he fed Lee Wallace and he in turn found McCulloch but again the Rangers striker was foiled, this time by Stevie Hammell was the man blocking his effort.

For Motherwell, Ojamaa was a threat, but it wasn’t potent enough. He broke into the box, rounded McGregor but with the angle too tight and men back on the line, his cutback was just behind Jamie Murphy.

The second half saw more of the same as Steven Whittaker, Wallace, Carlos Bocanegra and Alejandro all had attempts, while there was also a penalty shout when Lasley fouled Andrew Little in the box 12 minutes from the end and Ojamaa, Lasley, Hateley and Murphy kept McGregor and his defence occupied. But no-one could get the goal to separate the sides.

Motherwell didn’t mind, they still have plenty to celebrate this term. For Rangers it summed up a season which has offered little cheer.