Rangers earned an important win against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership thanks to a second-half own goal from Jason Holt.

Philippe Clement's huffed and puffed for periods but found a route to goal after the break to earn precious points for the manager.

The Rangers Review was in attendance at McDiarmid Park, here's our instant analysis of the game.

Rangers find a way to win 

Simo Valakari’s start at St Johnstone, while up and down in terms of results, has seen the Perth side improve their use of the ball and engage with opponents higher up the park. In the first 10 minutes at McDiarmid, it was St Johnstone who enjoyed better spells of possession. The runs of Benjy Kimpioka were always a possibility in the back of John Souttar and Robin Propper’s minds but by and large, Jack Butland was quiet throughout the afternoon. At the other end, Clement’s side had more luck after 15 minutes getting the ball forward and pinning back their opponents. Although compared to a low bar, there were better elements of the opening half that looked a little slicker than in recent weeks. Too often when reaching key moments the final action was lacking, however. Nedim Bajrami’s weak connection with a James Tavernier cut-back could’ve provided the opener and that aside Clement’s team could point to few genuine chances. At the other end Propper was shaky and misjudged more than one ball forward forced his side to retreat. Rangers have been so toothless on the road in the league since August that any win will do and although they created few openings the Ibrox side allowed just one shot on target themselves. At the break, Ridvan Yilmaz and Leon Balogun replaced Bajrami and Propper, both of whom were below-par in the first 45. Bajrami could be forgiven for feeling frustrated at having still not occupied his favoured position, however. It would take just over an hour for the visitors to eventually take the lead when a lofted ball from Hagi was converted by Jason Holt into his own net under pressure from Tavernier. In a game without much in the way of high-quality chances, it was somewhat fitting that Holt’s moment won the points.

Are performances improving?

Clement had argued against claims that his style of play is better suited to European competition than domestic speaking prior to Thursday’s 4-1 win over Nice in the Europa League - a win that saw him seven unbeaten on the road in European competition. The fact that Rangers managed more goals in the first-half of their win at the Allianz Riviera than all their away matches in the league to that point seemed to disagree. A lack of goals and Cyriel Dessers’ limitations as a link-up option has proven a constant issue all throughout the current campaign. It has been an understandable bugbear of supporters that Rangers can look far more accomplished and astute when facing Olympiacos or Nice than Kilmarnock and Aberdeen at their respective home stadiums. White a title race is already out of the question Clement cannot afford to go without points or performances at present. With Aberdeen to catch in second place and the optics of falling ever further behind Celtic costly. The visitors got the points here and elements of their showing were a slight upgrade on weeks gone by. And yet come full-time Rangers’ chance creation remains at too low a level to suggest they are on the up in the league. Clement’s claim in midweek that missing creative profiles was the reason for weaker results domestically compared to the Europa League convinces no more today than it did last week.

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Ianis Hagi provides an upgrade 

Making his first start in a Rangers shirt since May of 2023, a place in the first 11 has been a long time coming for Hagi. After a contract standoff over the summer that was set to end in a transfer that never materialised disruption has continued ever since the numbers were resolved. Suspension, no place in the European squad and a lack of opportunities in a midfield three desperately craving some attacking intuition have all acted as blockadres. Here the Romanian international started well, knitting together an often stuffy build-up and complimenting the legs of Nico Raskin and Connor Barron. Clement’s side can often be too direct when moving from back to front but Hagi’s ability to turn on the ball under pressure, while not always flawless, offered solutions through the home side’s structure. The odd loose touch and turnover was made up for by passes that tried to move Rangers through the lines, not just around their opponent. It came as no surprise that Hagi would play a central role in Clement’s side taking the lead, lofting a pass to the back post for Tavernier that was played quickly enough to hit space and not St Johnstone defenders. Clement must surely reflect the need for a creative profile in every domestic game his side should expect to dominate going forward. Without Hagi’s quick-thinking this game had 0-0 all over it.

Clement’s changes (just) pay off

Rarely has Clement made two alterations at the break but in Perth, he clearly felt there was no option but to introduce Balogin and Ridvan to provide pace at the back and natural width on the left. 10 minutes after the restart the Belgian looked to his bench again, shifting Hagi to the left and bringing on Danilo to support Igamane from the No.10 slot. This was an admission that quite simply, a week after dropping points against Dundee United, there was no more patience for error. Credit in the bank for the Belgian does not exist. Anything other than a win would not do. The manager would’ve felt vindicated when Hagi turned provider for Holt’s own goal when the deadlock was broken a little after the hour mark. Thereafter Danilo had a sighting at goal and Hagi drove an effort from a tight angle as Rangers looked to add a cushion to their lead that never came. Hamza Igamane was bright throughout and worked tirelessly until replaced near the end after a double against Nice. If you’d offered Rangers a 1-0 win at 12 o’clock they’d have snapped your hands of but, given we’re now in December, the sense they’re not improving sufficiently remains strong.