Rangers unrest inevident as 'synergy' returns, the impact sub who outshone debutant, and jittery Jack Butland

As a response to a difficult fortnight, this narrow victory at Tannadice ticked the box for Rangers.

Victory was the be all and end all for Philippe Clement's side after the 3-0 defeat to Celtic prior to the international break that placed the manager and his players under intense scrutiny.

It may not have been a convincing win - there were uncomfortable moments - but the three points, clean sheet, and spirit shown were enough for Rangers supporters to give the team a rousing reception at full-time.

For a team whose fanbase is supposedly full of unrest, Rangers were tremendously backed before, during and after the match, with Clement afterwards praising the return of "synergy" between players and supporters.

The mood was certainly helped by an early goal, brilliantly scored by Tom Lawrence as he waltzed through a static United defence to dink a sweet finish over Jack Walton after just seven minutes. The Welshman proved the hero but could so easily have ended up the villain had United snatched an equaliser. He ought to have had a hat-trick, failing to take two glorious opportunities to extend Rangers' lead in the second half which allowed United to remain in the game until the dying moments.

Rangers midfielder Tom Lawrence dinks the ball over Dundee United goalkeeper Jack Walton for the only goal of the game at Tannadice. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

In truth, the hosts struggled to create chances as Rangers' embryionic centre-back pairing of John Souttar and Robin Propper had their best game together to date. The shakiest moments in the visitors' defence came via a jittery Jack Butland, the goalkeeper looking unsure with the ball at his feet under pressure and was lucky to go unpunished when he passed it straight out to Craig Sibbald in the second half. Fortunately for him the midfielder was unable to control and the chance was gone.

Rangers fans were given their first glimpse of new signing Nedim Bajrami as part of a pre-planned move that saw the Albanian international brought on at half-time for Oscar Cortes, who is being eased back into action following injury. The £3.4million deadline day signing from Sassuolo showed glimpses of ability in a relatively quiet 45-minute debut as he took up position on the left wing.

The most impressive substitute appearance belonged to Rangers striker Hamza Igamane. Mystery has surrounded the Moroccan since his summer arrival as he was kept completely out of view until making his belated debut off the bench for the final few minutes at Celtic Park.

He was given 25 minutes to make an impression at Tannadice - which he did with some eye-catching moments, particularly when controlling the ball on his chest and turning in one motion to set up a chance for Lawrence shortly after coming on as Jack Walton made a smart save low to his right to keep the score at 1-0.

Rangers substitute Hamza Igamane made an impression in his 25 minute appearance in the 1-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Igamane also came close to opening his Rangers account with a neat near post flick from a James Tavernier corner. He certainly looks like he could be a handful for defenders with more minutes in the weeks to come.

United's best spell came in the 20 minutes after the break during which time Kirstijan Trapanowski missed the target by inches with a deflected long-range effort.

It was one of the few times that the Rangers goal looked in serious threat, with Lawrence curling over the bar with the goal at his mercy at the other end. He could have left with the match ball, but Lawrence settled for being match winner.