Giovanni van Bronckhorst watched his Rangers side recover from the loss of an “easy goal” against Livingston to win 2-1 in their hard-fought cinch Premiership opener at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
Striker Joel Nouble put the home side ahead in the fifth minute when he broke past Gers defender John Souttar to lob keeper Jon McLaughlin and he went on to cause the visitors trouble all afternoon.
Livi defended resolutely on their artificial surface until deep into the second half when two goals in three minutes – a header from substitute Scott Arfield and a 25-yard free-kick from skipper James Tavernier – took the points back to Ibrox to the relief of the huge travelling support.
Rangers boss Van Bronckhorst told BBC Scotland Sportsound: “It was a big win. It’s vital three points from a difficult away game on a difficult surface. “The start we had didn’t help.