Rangers' flatlining fatigue sees the mood only darkened by snarly-faced busted flush - Keith Jackson

For well over an hour on Sunday afternoon a spring was threatening to return to the step of Rangers and their supporters.

They’ll take their breaks anywhere they can get them these days, even if that place is behind enemy lines at Celtic Park. So when Falkirk took the lead in Glasgow’s east end not once but twice in the quarter final of the Premier Sports Cup, for the first time in a long time, they might have been hoping for the best. While, deep down, bracing themselves for another dollop of bad news.

They were spared from the very worst case scenario because, from the moment Brendan Rodgers turned to his bench to help his players dig themselves out of trouble, across the other side of the city they probably thought they knew what was coming at them down the pipe. Celtic in the semis. And right now the very idea of another Old Firm showdown is an ordeal they could do without at a time when Philippe Clement and his players are struggling to discover their own identity.

So they dodged a bullet in the draw which pairs them with Motherwell instead - and buys some much needed room to grow as well as a bit of breathing space for the time being. On the face of it, Rangers had plenty to be pleased about on Saturday night, even if it didn’t really feel like it after a 3-0 win over Dundee.

A potentially awkward quarter final had been comfortably negotiated, back on home soil inside their own stadium. Their No.9 took his tally for the season to seven already, with a delightfully taken double.

New signings Connor Barron, Nedim Bajrami and Jefte all looked the part, Jack Butland kept a clean sheet and even skipper James Tavernier weighed in again with an assist and another goal from the penalty spot. But the fact is there’s a