AN early kick-off and a goal down following a lethargic and largely uninspiring opening 45, there was more than a hint of Tayside deja vu in the air for Rangers.

They had been punished for a poor performance to that point by Michael O’Halloran, who raced beyond Filip Helander to open the scoring soon after the restart.

In a sense, it felt like the Ibrox men needed a shock to add a spark. It wasn’t forthcoming against Dundee United last month, but at McDiarmid Park they found a way to win when their opponents offered an ultimatum.

“We were asked a question and champions normally find the answers,” Steven Gerrard told RangersTV.

The omission of Connor Goldson pre-match was a blow. Having played every minute last season, the Englishman is by every measure the cornerstone of this side, integral to the functionality of Rangers’ high line and their distribution from defence. Leon Balogun and Helander started together for the first time in his place.

A sign of the problems O’Halloran’s pace would cause the visitors came early on, when Jon McLaughlin raced out of his goals to scythe down the forward outside the box. After losing the ball, Gerrard’s side was slow to apply pressure on the turnover and as would be the case throughout, didn’t deal well defending the space behind the backline.

As was the case against Ross County, the press wasn't aggressive enough which allowed the area behind the high line to be targeted.

Flashes of quality followed as the visitors sought some form of inroad. Alfredo Morelos dropped to find James Tavernier on more than one occasion, however, too often when possession was recycled wide crosses back into the centre were speculative and comfortably defended.

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Kemar Roofe was making his second start of the season and managed to turn half-chances into opportunities, but in general, the service from back to front was too slow to unsettle Callum Davidson’s disciplined, drilled side. Roofe looked a yard ahead of his teammates in the opening 45 and was the best performer.

No goals and really no notable opportunities were recorded by the halftime whistle. Seemingly, it took O’Halloran wheeling away in celebration on 50 minutes to goad Rangers into a game. Like against Alashkert, adversity brought a positive reaction.

Ryan Kent hasn’t sprung into life yet this season and his first-half performance summed that up. Too often he tried to beat his man a second time when he had earned room on the first attempt and slowed down attacks. But, as ever, he didn’t hide and was rewarded with a penalty before the hour. He was determined to find a way even if a stubborn opponent was blocking every option.

Joe Aribo moved higher to form a 4-2-2-2 after the opener and a more offensive starting position allowed him to cut infield and find Kent who was brought down. Roofe took the ball and finished calmly before a rammy followed between the two sets of players, which seemed to only further invigorate the champions.

In the following 20 minutes, both teams had chances. The visitor's defence struggled to prevent clipped balls over their defence at source and in a foot race, O’Halloran always looked dangerous.

With full-time nearing, Fashion Sakala bore down on goal but saw his angle closed off. In recycling possession Tavernier received the ball outside the area from Kent, Clark shuffled forward anticipating a crossed ball and left the space necessary for the ball to curl over the top of him into the net.

"We have the best full-back in Scotland," Gerrard said of the intervention from his captain.

A performance full of endeavour and an ability to find a way to win when the usual methods aren’t quite clicking will please supporters. Let’s not forget, there has been a number of stuffy performances at McDiarmid in the past few years. 

This is a team that won a cup double last season for a reason – they’re horrible to play against.

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Gerrard added: “We’re not champions by fluke, we’ve had to build this and we’ve had to work ever so hard together to become a team and a squad. Teams win you three points and games but squads win you important titles.

“That’s the reason why we’re champions because we’ve got that unity, that togetherness. We’ve got good players and we’re starting to come to places like this and when asked tough questions we find the answers which is pleasing.”

Better performances will be expected but winning games when not at your best is a desirable quality. Rangers will have to answer plenty of questions this season posed by opponents. Faster starts in future will make those posed easier to answer.