Rangers boos turn to cheers as balancing act laid bare in Russell Martin's first outing

The outcome of such outings at this stage of pre-season should always be taken a large dollop of salt, so the scoreline - a 2-2 draw - will matter little to Martin and his coaching team in what was the first public sighting of Rangers since his arrival a month ago.

Only one new signing started in the shape of right-back Max Aarons, while another in centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez came on for the last half-an-hour. The others - midfielders Joe Rothwell, Lyall Cameron and Thelo Aasgaard - did not feature, although the latter did take part in the warm-up.

Martin will have gleaned a lot from watching so many of last season's squad try to implement his new style of football at Ibrox. His possession-based ideology has been hyped up from his time in charge of Southampton and Swansea City. Deployed in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Rangers were completely outclassed by Club Brugge in the first half before making a much better fist of things after the break.

Liam Kelly started in goal, Aarons was at right-back along with Jefte on the opposite flank. Robin Propper and Leon King were the centre-halves. Handed the captain's armband, Connor Barron was in the engine room with Nicolas Raskin, with Kieran Dowell as the 10. Oscar Cortes and Findlay Curtis were on the wings, with Danilo as the central striker.

Most of the team in the first half were below the required standard. Club Brugge seamlessly moved 2-0 ahead inside 13 minutes. Conducted by their impressive captain Hans Vanaken, they opened the scoring on ten minutes when Hugo Veltesen netted from just inside the penalty box after Kelly saved his original effort. Moments later, Ludovit Reis belted in a volley from distance.

Rangers a clear second best in first half - but were boos justified?

Had Christos Tziolis' shot after skinning King found the net rather than the base of the post on 26 minutes, then Rangers may well have been done and dusted. The hosts did not pass the ball with any sort of authority in the first half and looked physically inferior to the visitors. Propper and King toiled and there was little threat in attack.

The performance was poor, but did it merit the ripple of boos at half-time? Some Rangers supporters showed their displeasure - a harsh act for a friendly so early in pre-season.

It must be remembered that in addition to the new signings, several other first-teamers were missing. Centre-half John Souttar is injured and Clinton Nsiala also missed out. Farmed out on loan last term, Ben Davies, Jose Cifuentes and Rabbi Matondo were absent.

The two most notable omissions were strikers Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane, both linked with moves away from Ibrox. Dessers was spotted in a club tracksuit signing autographs. Danilo did not do much in attack.

Those jeers may well have stung Rangers, who played much better after the break. Jack Butland, James Tavernier, Bailey Rice, Mohamed Diomande and Nedim Bajrami came on and made a difference. Interestingly, skipper Tavernier played at centre-half, with Aarons kept at right-back, the captain's usual berth. Diomande's presence always makes Rangers a better team and he netted six minutes into the second half after Cortes had pounced on a loose pass.

The visitors also made several changes and lost their way. Rangers plugged on and Curtis, the only player to be on the pitch for 90 minutes, levelled right at the death with a cool finish.

The irony was that Rangers were roundly cheered at the end. Plenty of work - but also fan patience - is required under this new regime. Martin takes his squad to St George's Park next week for an intensive training camp as they step up preparations for the Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos on July 22.