Rangers have suffered another Premiership setback after being held to a draw by Dundee United at Ibrox. Vaclav Cerny rescued a point for Philippe Clement’s side but this was another dreadful day for the Belgian as questions continue to mount over his future.

Sam Dalby headed United in front after 35 minutes. The visitors will feel that they deserved their share of the spoils. Jim Goodwin’s side remain within touching distance of Rangers in the standings.

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Crowd make their feelings clear

‘Rangers Football Club – It’s in the wrong hands’. The chant from the Union Bears late in the first half was short and to the point. The reaction on the whistle spoke volumes. Those on the park and those in the Director’s Box could not have missed the message and the anger should not be underestimated.

This is a support that are rightly furious and calls for change in the dugout and the boardroom – which have steadily increased in recent weeks – will continue while Rangers find themselves in this situation. Right now, there is no easy road out of a shambles that is entirely self-made and self-inflicted.

In the defeat at Kilmarnock, the board were accused of ‘mismanagement’. Against St Mirren, supporters called for change after accusations of ‘ineptitude’. Quite simply, the status quo cannot continue. The talk of improvement and of needing time is futile right now. Fans want action and fans want change.

There was no mass exodus when the board went up confirming eight minutes of added on time. Perhaps the home crowd believed the great escape was on. More likely, many stayed to the end just to vent their anger at the manager and his players. They did just that.

Lack of cutting edge kills Rangers again

The opening stages were not exactly a show of intent from Clement’s side. Once again, and as feared, Rangers were ponderous across the park. Possession for the sake of it was followed by aimless long balls with no end product.

Cerny forced a save from Jack Walton with an effort from distance. Nicolas Raskin did the same with his second attempt after firing his first high over the bar. A strike from Nedim Bajrami looked like finding the far corner after he collected the ball in the left channel. A Cerny free-kick that was straight into the wall summed up the lack of quality in the final third.

Clement introduced Ianis Hagi and Danilo at the break. Both had been tipped to start by many supporters. It was an admission that it wasn’t working. It was a desperate throw of the dice. Rangers were better, but it wouldn't have been hard.

Danilo should have scored from close range just after the restart. Cerny almost found the top corner minutes later. As frustrations grew, Cerny gave Rangers hope of victory with an accomplished low finish across Walton after linking up neatly with Danilo. A dinked finish from the Czech was ruled out after a quick VAR check and a late scramble in the area somehow ended without Rangers registering for a second time. A Hamza Igamane strike that was saved was the last effort.

United worth their point

The wait was, somewhat fittingly for this prolonged afternoon, lengthy as Ibrox looked at referee Don Robertson. The decision was the one that Rangers feared as United opened the scoring. The call must have been tight as the lines were drawn but Dalby got his moment as he celebrated for the second time.

United had caused Rangers few problems. When they ventured forward, it was down their left side. That was where the goal came from as Vicko Sevelj put in a teasing cross that wasn’t stopped at source or dealt with in the danger area. Dalby headed home from six yards.

John Souttar blocked a Kai Fotheringham strike in first half stoppage time. Had United doubled their lead, there would have been no way back for a beleaguered Rangers.

Goodwin spoke this week about creating a nervous tension around Ibrox. His side certainly achieved that in the first half. That was as good as it got for United. They headed back home with a sense of satisfaction at a job well done.

Two selection surprises

Clement insisted pre-match there were no ‘number ones and number twos in our squad’ as he addressed the decisions to start Dujon Sterling and Robin Propper. James Tavernier was overlooked at right-back and Leon Balogun missed out on a start at centre-back. The loss of Neraysho Kasanwirjo has denied Clement a useful option in both of those areas. The return of Ridvan Yilmaz, who got half an hour here, was welcomed and Oscar Cortes and Rabbi Matondo will follow.

The theory before this fixture was that Tavernier and Balogun would start against United and Sterling and Propper would come in against Nice on Thursday evening. Coming off the back of an international break, physical conditioning could not be used as a mitigating factor to such an extent. Is Clement now in the process of phasing out his captain?

Questions still remain over Sterling’s capabilities at right-back and he has much to prove to show that he can be the successor to the skipper. Perhaps the main aspect revolves around his durability. Even if Clement can switch between Tavernier and Sterling going forward, the latter must convince that he can get through the minutes week after week. This run of fixtures offers Sterling the chance to do just that.

Travel issues cause kick-off delay

The arrival of Storm Bert on Friday night and Saturday morning had, it is fair to say, been fairly well publicised. Nobody who woke up on game day should have been shocked by the conditions around the country. Even still, United found themselves caught out as their journey to Glasgow was severely delayed. A couple of hours before kick-off, it was clear that this match would not be starting as planned at three o’clock.

Confirmation of that came 90 minutes before the first whistle was due to blow. It was 3pm by the time United arrived at Ibrox. Rangers offered their visitors use of a meeting room within the stadium and a pre-match meal, but Goodwin opted to take his players to their designated hotel to go through their preparations as normal.

With five minutes to go before the rescheduled start, United were still out warming up. A request for a further official delay had been rejected. At 3.55pm, the game finally started. As 6pm ticked ever closer, it finally ended.