Five talking points as Rangers make it four from four under Beale

Goals from Alfredo Morelos, Connor Goldson and Malik Tillman delivered the three points their manager so craved as he bids to reel in Premiership leaders Celtic.

But there was concern, too, for the new manager as Morelos limped off in the second-half. Top scorer Antonio Colak was again unfit to make the squad, and Beale could find himself heading into the derby with limited options up front.

His side again played only in fits and starts, but were never seriously troubled by a Motherwell side being dragged towards the wrong end of the table as they slipped down to 10th.

Here are five talking points from Ibrox.

Four out of four for Beale

With that derby showdown looming and Celtic showing no sign of dropping a breathless pace at the league summit, getting to January without allowing their advantage to stretch further was the very minimum requirement for Beale's early tenure. A fourth win on the trot under their new manager means Rangers welcome their city rivals to Ibrox apply some real pressure.

READ MORE: Michael Beale's Rangers 'should be three points' Celtic gap examined

Beale's comments pre-match about how there should only three points between the teams caused a predictable stir, but the general thrust of his point was Rangers have not been consistent enough. Celtic, by contrast, have been unrelenting in their quest for a second title in a row, winning 18 out of 19 matches.

It's why, as he continues to implement his ideas, Beale placed considerable emphasis on simply picking up any kind of win - pretty or otherwise. In the end, it was pretty middle of the road from the Ibrox side, but maximum return was all that really mattered.

Rangers search for top gear

An early goal should've been a welcome reprieve for an anxious Ibrox crowd, but some of Rangers' play in the first-half meant the cushion of a goal did little to relax the home fans. Neither, of course, did a succession of errant passes and occasional dawdling in possession that almost allowed Motherwell in on goal. The goal itself, mind you, was a well worked one - Morelos heading in a Borna Barisic cross from the left after a slick move.

Goldson's second, headed in from a corner, appeared to take the shackles off and, for a spell, there was a glimpse of what Beale's Rangers could be all about on a more consistent basis. It's clear he's looking to implement greater fluidity in forward areas and, in the latter stages of the first-half, the likes of Malik Tillman, Ryan Kent and Lowry began to exert greater influence; picking up pockets of space and stretching Motherwell in a way Rangers hadn't done nearly enough of.

The half-time whistle, therefore, came at a bad time for the home side. It can be difficult to carry that momentum into the restart and it took them some time to get into their stride once more. Tillman adding a third certainly helped, and from there it was plain sailing.

Tillman the key

If Beale is to turn Rangers into a formidable attacking force once more, the American will almost certainly be his key man. The manager has already expressed an interest in signing the Bayern Munich loanee permanently, and he's constantly growing in importance for the Ibrox side after a sticky spell midway through the first half of the season.

Tillman has an elegance of movement and deftness of touch which must make him infuriatingly difficult to play against. He again displayed a finishing touch with a beautifully taken third; squaring up his man, dropping a shoulder and driving a shot across Liam Kelly.

Lowry gets his chance

Three wins from three under Beale couldn’t really mask the fact Rangers had yet to hit any real creative stride since the Premiership resumed, and it led to sustained calls for Alex Lowry to be given an opportunity in the side.

Those calls were duly answered when the team sheets were revealed ahead of kick-off, placing the 19-year-old into a midfield three alongside John Lundstram and Ryan Jack. Keen to make an impression, he would often drift into the left-back area in search of the ball, while the returning Barisic pushed high and wide, a noticeable change from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s tenure. The pair were heavily involved in the opening goal, with Lowry holding his position and then helping the ball on for Barisic to deliver directly onto Morelos’ head.

READ MORE: How Rangers manager Michael Beale's Brazil adventure turned sour

Lowry’s first thought is always to play forward, but his use of the ball was erratic at times, and it fed into a sense of unease around Ibrox. He wasn’t the only culprit, by any means, and you’d expect such inconsistency from a young player anyway.

He was, however, pivotal in earning the corner that led to Rangers’ second goal. Midfield runners haven’t been a feature of this Rangers side, but it was in Lowry going beyond they teed up the set-piece from which Goldson headed home.

Motherwell sliding?

It's ever true that teams nearer the bottom of the table will never see their seasons defined by trips to Ibrox and Celtic Park, but manager Steven Hammell will perhaps be disappointed that Rangers racked up such a comfortable scoreline without truly excelling. His side started well, managing to keep their hosts away from the final third for longer than they would've liked, in the first period.

They were then undone by Rangers' quality for the first, failed to deal with a corner for the second and simply couldn't contain Tillman at the third. Defeat places them on the cusp of the relegation places, with Kilmarnock leapfrogging them after their win over Aberdeen.

That will be all the more galling for Hammell, considering just last week his side were two goals and a man up on Killie at Fir Park, only to somehow come away with just a point. The Well manager was again forced to shift right-back Paul McGinn into centre-back, and he hasn't been helped by key players being unavailable. You do, however, sense a key January transfer window ahead for the Steelmen, one which could decide their trajectory for the rest of the campaign.