Ordinary Rangers need more than an American takeover to lift them from this calamitous state

Granted, there was little at stake for them at the start of this coda to another inconsequential season but it was their inability to raise their levels to impose themselves on a St Mirren side, patched together on a fraction of their budget, that was the most damning aspect of it all.

It has been the story of a calamitous season. Teams like St Mirren, Motherwell, Queen’s Park and others ought to be quivering at the prospect of facing a Rangers team laden with internationals and multi-million pound purchases. That fear factor, though, has long gone and it will take more than an American takeover and a new high-profile manager to restore that reputation as Celtic threaten to sail off into the horizon with all the trophies on board.

Barry Ferguson’s plea to be retained as head coach beyond his interim service period will, rightly, fall on deaf ears but his pain here could be felt from 100 metres away as Rangers toiled to put on anything resembling a convincing performance in this 2-2 draw at St Mirren.

Having declared that nothing less than 15 points would be acceptable over the final five post-split matches, Ferguson watched his charges fall at the first hurdle despite twice forging into the lead through Cryriel Dessers and then Nico Raskin, the latter one of the few to avoid criticism.

St Mirren twice hit back through Mark O’Hara and then Conor McMenamin, the latter strike giving them hope that they could yet sneak a winner in the closing stages. A third goal didn’t emerge for either side but it was again damaging for Rangers that this had evolved into another 50/50 battle that they couldn’t win.

It all had the feel of a very early pre-season friendly - which it effectively was. Neither side had anything particularly tangible to play for, with St Mirren realistically too far adrift of those clubs above them to make a serious tilt at securing European football.

Rangers’ motives were even more opaque beyond the usual bluster about playing for pride, points and places next season. There was no evidence of that urgency on the pitch, although Ferguson, as befits his ultra-competitive nature, still bawled in fury every time a chance was missed or a pass went astray.

He was not the only one to look aghast when Rangers passed up one first-half chance. Dessers looked well offside when he breached the St Mirren backline to chest down Mohamed Diomande’s chip forward before blasting the ball high into orbit with the goal at his mercy. No offside flag was raised afterwards, however, making it a costly lapse in concentration.

Remarkably, though, it was not the worst miss of the match. That went to Mika Mandron who found himself facing an open goal after Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly had scuffed a clearance straight to his feet. Like Dessers at the other end, however, Mandron somehow couldn’t direct his effort underneath the crossbar.

Both teams would at least hit the target before the half was out. Dessers atoned for his earlier miss by taking a pass from Raskin, moving past the St Mirren defence before threading a shot that zipped past Zach Hemming.

That looked to have given Rangers a half-time lead – and perhaps some brief respite from their permanently vexed head coach – but they couldn’t even hold out for three minutes before conceding. Killian Phillips doesn’t possess much of a long throw – more of a medium throw – but the Rangers defence still couldn’t clear it, the ball dropping for O’Hara to lash a shot past Kelly.

Raskin and Diomande will be two of the few that Rangers will want to hang onto this summer and it was the pair who combined when the visitors went back in front early in the second half. Diomande bisected the St Mirren defence with the perfect pass to Raskin who wasn’t challenged before finishing well past Hemming.

Rangers, though, continued to look vulnerable at the back and should have paid for that slackness when Roland Idowu couldn’t steer his shot past Kelly who stuck out a leg to save.

Undeterred, St Mirren continued to press for a goal and got their rewards 15 minutes from time. Declan John was the creator, the former Rangers full-back fizzing in a delightful centre that McMenamin guided over the line.