Rangers reaction: Alarm bells for van Bronckhorst; Allan McGregor spares total humiliation; Aaron Ramsey needed sooner rather than later

Rangers have turned a six-point lead over Celtic at the top of the Premiership into a one-point deficit over the course of their first four matches after the winter break.

If Giovanni van Bronckhorst earned and enjoyed an extended honeymoon period as manager of the Ibrox club, with seven wins from his first seven league games in charge, it’s certainly over now.

Van Bronckhorst’s unbeaten start to life as Steven Gerrard’s successor was always going to come to an end at some stage.

But the manner of his first defeat and the identity of the opponents who inflicted it in such devastating style means the Dutch coach is suddenly the subject of intense and unforgiving scrutiny from the Rangers support.

If concerns were raised by the points dropped in unconvincing away draws at Aberdeen and Ross County either side of a laboured home win over Livingston, the first-half skewering at Celtic Park on Wednesday night has truly set alarm bells ringing at full volume.

Just as they had been in the 3-3 draw in Dingwall four days earlier, Rangers were all over the place at the back against a vibrant Celtic side who went at them full pelt from the first whistle.

Unlike against County, however, none of the blame could be laid at Allan McGregor’s door on this occasion. Which was just as well for van Bronckhorst - but for the 40-year-old goalkeeper’s heroics, it’s no exaggeration to say Rangers could have found themselves 6-0 down at half-time.

The 3-0 lead Celtic forged was bad enough from van Bronckhorst’s perspective and while Ange Postecoglou’s side merit all the praise they are getting for the relentless pace and fluidity of their attacking play in that first half, Rangers’ back four were all too easily maneuvered out of shape.

They were