THREE of the key issues from Rangers' crucial 2-1 win over Mark McGhee's Dundee at Dens Park.
Protests disrupt proceedings
Three times the Rangers fans halted play with a protest. With toilet paper, tennis balls and in voice they made their feelings crystal clear. The sound of, "You can stick your f***ing friendly up your ****" was belted out and while the message will have been received by the Ibrox board you can't imagine it helped the players gain any kind of rhythm on a rutted pitch. Allan McGregor's reaction to the third stoppage just after half-time was telling. Sky cameras picked up the keeper's exasperated response and you didn't have to be a lip-reader to work out the 40-year-old's feelings on the matter. A fourth stop when the sprinkler system went on only furthered the sense of farce that was beginning to build around the game.
The big names step up
Cometh the hour and cometh the man. Connor Goldson has rarely, if ever, let Rangers down and he grabbed a goal that keeps his side in the title race. He was one of a number of players that stepped up in a much improved second-half performance that saw Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men slowly turn the screw on their opponents. James Tavernier was also crucial as he shook off a first-half penalty miss to help drive his side forward looking for the goals that would turn the game on its head.
Rangers more suited to Europe
While rivals Celtic struggle to complete at a similarly rarified level, they have the attacking weaponry to see off domestic opponents. By contrast, Rangers have the quality to hurt the best teams but against a low-lying defence, they simply don't have enough goals in the team. They are over-reliant on Alfredo Morelos and when he's taken out of the game, they struggle to hit the net. This was apparent once again at Dens Park and it was obvious the game would be a struggle from very early in the first half. It's been an issue for four years since Steven Gerrard first moulded this squad and the club must act in the summer to fix this, even if it means less success at European level. While they got there in the end, it was never comfortable as it should have been against a team who are rooted to the bottom of the table.
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