Rangers teeter between dire and hopeless but jubilation follows cruel Dessers and Lammers irony – Ibrox analysis

He said it’d be a marathon not a sprint – and at least, for now, Rangers are still putting one foot in front of the other under Philippe Clement.

Mind you, for 89 minutes it looked like the Light Blues were about to fall flat on their face having been presented with a major opportunity by Celtic’s Easter Road draw. Brendan Rodgers’ team haven’t been offering up too many glimmers of hope this season but here was a chance to reignite a title race that looked doomed already. They took it, slashing the Hoops’ lead at the top back to five points ... but only just.

It took the maddest of finishes, in a match played out to groans and moans, to end with the sound of stunned jubilation flowing round the Ibrox stands. On the day the clocks went back, Clement’s team were caught snoozing after the extra hour in bed as they let in Lawrence Shankland to score early. And there was not much more sign of life in a Rangers display that verged from dire to hopeless, with both Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers cheered ironically as they were replaced.

James Tavernier would have got it tight too after slamming a penalty off the post on the stroke of half-time. But the skipper – whose displays of late have made him a divisive figure down Edmiston Drive – chose the perfect moment to put on a captain’s show as he slotted home a second spot-kick in the 90th-minute before delivering a stunning cross for Danilo to head in the winner three minutes later.

Clement will be fully aware the level of this one performance will be nowhere near enough if Rangers are to seriously contend for the title, but the growing resilience and spirit in this squad is going to be vital if they are to make anything of this season. They certainly can’t afford to play as