Fractured Rangers' house of juxtapositions with fan rammies, protests and jeers amid an easy win
Rarely has the activity in the stands been so much juicer than the product on the pitch at a match between Rangers and St Johnstone.
Yet those interested in spectating at Ibrox on a freezing January afternoon did not know where to look. The early goal glut, the banners, fan walk-outs or the rammies in the home end? Never a dull moment in Govan right now.
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Hide AdRangers won this Premiership encounter 3-1 over a Saints team that is now in grave danger of ending its 16-year stay in Scotland's top flight. The hosts were three goals to the good before the half-hour mark - but the drama was unfurling all around them.


A day after new chief executive Patrick Stewart gave embattled manager Philippe Clement a public vote of confidence, some Rangers fans wanted to make their stance abundantly clear on where they stand on the running of the club. There were empty seats scattered around Ibrox and among the 45,000 who attended, there was a split: those who wanted to protest, and those who wanted to support.
Rangers, of course, are miles off where they need to be and what their fanbase expects. Fifteen points behind leaders Celtic and £17.2 million in the red, this is not a picture of health at Ibrox. Clement's critics are getting louder but the Belgian is going nowhere for now. The team is ravaged by injuries and inconsistent performers, with detractors claiming it has no identity. The impressive wins over Celtic and Nice get cancelled out by limp efforts at places such as Kilmarnock and Motherwell.
This is a house of juxtapositions. What occurred here was a great example of the fractured state Rangers now finds itself in, played amid the backdrop of the club's most vociferous fan group Union Bears calling on supporters to join them in a walk-out on 55 minutes.
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Hide AdRangers actually started this game brightly amid the oddest of atmospheres. The Union Bears - who were recently rehoused behind the goal in the Copland Stand to create a better backing for the players - did nothing positive. Oh the irony, as they sang "sack the board" and "Glasgow Rangers, we're in the wrong hands". It led to an eerie early silence occasionally interrupted by the hum of conversation and chants.
"Everything from everyone? Fans gave all as you let our standards fall," read the first Union Bears banner. Rangers were already pummelling a miserable Saints team and on 16 minutes, the opener came when Hamza Igamane tucked home after a cutback from Mohamed Diomande.


The second set of placards, with Rangers now cruising after Vaclav Cerny netted via a neat pass from Danilo on 20 minutes, stated: "Our loyalty is not a free pass for failure." Even with things going swimmingly on the pitch, the ire was brewing off it.
The most interesting sideshow came just beneath the press box in the Main Stand, and it encapsulated the difference of opinion between supporters. A few of the faithful were loudly arguing with each other after one had applauded the Union Bears' words. Stewards had to get involved to calm tempers.
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Hide AdThe only way to apply balm on these long-standing wounds is to win football matches on a regular basis. Whether stung by the disquiet around them or not, the Rangers players tucked the game up in bed on 26 minutes when Saints defender Jack Sanders inexplicably headed a cross into the sky on the six-yard box and Diomande converted effortlessly.
St Johnstone were lucky to be only 3-0 down at the break and not long after the restart, Cerny missed a good chance to make it four. The clock edged closer to 55 minutes, and thoughts turned to the walkout. "Time for fans to force change," was the next message from the Union Bears. One suspects the change they craved was not from Sanders, atoning for his error on 54 minutes to head home from a corner.


A minute later, the Union Bears' organ grinder whipped their flags off the masts and the group vacated the premises. Some others across the stadium followed, but there was no mass exodus. In fact, their actions were booed by the majority.
The rest of the match was played out in the most soporific of environments. Rangers toiled to score more goals, St Johnstone breathed a sigh of relief that they had managed to stop the bleeding. Relegation is staring them squarely in the face, nine points away from safety. Their manager Simo Valakari called it a "catastrophic" situation.
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Hide AdRangers' is not quite as bad but the win does little to change the narrative. Mild applause greeted the final whistle. Aberdeen visit next on Wednesday, where a win would put Clement's men ten points clear in second place.
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