Rangers looked more like a Michael Beale team in Dingwall

Moments later Rabbi Matondo switches a pass into touch instead of playing Ryan Kent through on goal, as the visitors sought to make a tender 1-0 lead slightly more comfortable.

Michael Beale doesn’t react to either moment with visible frustration, resisting the urge to throw his hands in the air as he surely was internally. In both moments with the balance of the game swinging, where one set of supporters were gripped with anxiety and the other hope, he relays a simple message.

It’s not fall back and protect but push up and engage. Beale motions his arms together encouraging the away team to play closer together, squeeze the pitch and not drop off as logic may suggest. Urging them to retain the same high line they’ve defended with from the first minute.

This wasn’t a Rangers performance with many defence-splitting passes and chance creation didn’t match the levels recorded against Aberdeen or Hibs. What the narrow win in the Highlands did feature more prominently than either game was just as important, however. Control.

If you look at the average positions of Beale's full-backs, midfield and attack, it's beginning to look more recognisable.

“I thought we were pretty comfortable at times tonight without having any cutting edge or real quality in the final third,” the manager said in his post-match press conference.

“We'll get better, we'll get more rhythm. It is a changing room that realises it needs to keep getting three points. We have to keep winning so are we going to be our free-flowing best while that's in their mind?”

READ MORE: Michael Beale must fix Rangers' key vulnerability despite comeback

“Coming back into the club and seeing these three fixtures for what they were, I would have taken the nine points any way I got them. After the last two games being a roller-coaster that was pretty routine.”

Aside from a two-minute spell in the first half when the Rangers defence was twice turned, Jon McLaughlin had little to do. The early data from the match shows the hosts’ xG tally at 0.34, having taken just three shots in the second half. With Connor Goldson and Ben Davies playing together for the first time since the former’s injury against Liverpool, everything looked a little more stable.

Since Beale arrived the majority of focus from the stands has been on attacking play.

The headlines during his first week centred around a desire to “release the handbrake” and “play like the big team”. Implementing a style that’s exciting to play in and, as a consequence, exciting to watch.

Off-ball structure isn’t quite so sexy. Sub-editors will rarely latch onto comments about the defensive shape or pressing styles, but when Beale has been repeatedly asked ‘what his Rangers team will look like’, out-of-possession themes have been just as prevalent in his answers.

“If you’re more organised you’ll run less, you’ll play with less stress and be ready to attack,” he said presenting to the Coaches Voice in 2021.

The 42-year-old also explained why playing with a high line is logical as it doesn’t give up control of dangerous areas. Even if it seems counterintuitive to gamble and sit high when defending a narrow lead late in the game. 

Defensive connotations tend to centre around low blocks and packed penalty boxes but there’s more than one way to protect your goal. 

In an interview with Sky Sports this week Mikel Arteta said of Pep Guardiola, perceived to be the most progressive coach in the world: “He would say he is the most defensive manager in the world, because of how he wants to control the game.”

Beale has a clear, definable philosophy and wants to "own the pitch" even when the opposition team are in possession. Control is at the centre of how his team should look without the ball.

There is more than one way to control a game and more than one way to defend a lead.

Rangers looked more like a Beale team with the ball against Aberdeen and Hibs during patches and in Dingwall, they looked more like a Beale team without it. 

In the circumstances inherited, nine from nine during an injury crisis was as good as the new manager could've hoped for. 

Improvement is of course needed, the style still to be fully implemented. It's far easier to do both when you're winning and along with six points from six during Beale's self-proclaimed 'mentality week', Rangers' identity is starting to emerge.