Rangers fans want St Etienne bike put to use as ex-captain's calls and 'Goram gooley' repeat unlikely

Our chief football writer Alan Pattullo was at Ibrox and he picks out three extra takeaways from the Premiership encounter.

Is the bike for Clement?

It seemed fitting that the excellent Rangers match programme carried a feature on Saturday about the famous “St Etienne bike" that’s been housed for decades in the Ibrox trophy room.

Many fans would gladly have invited manager Philippe Clement to get on it after the final whistle, with Rangers having lost to near neighbours for the second consecutive game at Ibrox.

St Mirren followed up Queen’s Park stunning Scottish Cup win with a comprehensive 2-0 victory that means Clement’s future is back on agenda, if it ever left it.

As for the bike, some mystery shrouds its provenance due to film footage existing of the late David Wilson standing by it and claiming he had won it for his man of the match display against St Etienne in 1957 when he was just breaking into the first team.

The heirloom was always thought to date to a later clash against the French side, in the second round of the European Cup in 1975. Rangers historian has David Mason has done some scratching around, literally, and discovered that on the frame, beneath the handlebars and previously obscured by white paint, is the number 73. This is how the bike manufacturing company Manufrance marked the age date on their bikes, so in this case, it’s 1973. It means it had to be a gift from the later meeting, when Rangers lost 4-1 on aggregate to a team destined to reach the final at Hampden, where they lost to Bayern Munich.

The bike has remained a source of deep interest at Ibrox ever since. Still, no matter how precious and much loved it might be, supporters would still like to have seen Clement riding away on it on Saturday after what the manager himself described as the worst performance of his reign – which is saying something.

Amoruso’s unheeded calls

“Keep always with the players and with the team,” urged former skipper Lorenzo Amoruso, when asked for his message to the supporters at half time on Saturday. “Because with this support, we can overcome every problem, that’s for sure.”

Within about half an hour, Ibrox was emptying at a furious rate. As popular as the Italian might still be in Govan, where he had been invited onto the pitch to conduct the Union Jackpot draw, his words were not being heeded. St Mirren’s second goal, scored by substitute Toyosi Olusanya, sparked a mass exodus of the like rarely seen in these parts.

It’s a measure of how badly things were going for Rangers that when Hamza Igamane rather than Cyriel Dessers was subbed off for Danilo , there was barely a howl of protest. That’s not to say Dessers was anything special. Shortly after St Mirren took the lead through Mikael Mandron, Ianis Hagi whipped an inviting looking cross into the middle, where Dessers, perhaps inevitably, was not quite in the right position.

The striker threw back his head in despair. “Don’t just stand there looking at the sky!” someone screamed from the main stand. It was of the few printable things heard all afternoon as the Rangers fans’ patience well and truly snapped. Likewise, seemingly, the patience of the Tannoy announcer, whose choice of first song after the final whistle was something by … Dire Straits.

No St Mirren omen

Almost 35 years have elapsed since St Mirren last won on the short journey to Ibrox. Andy Goram was still finding his feet at Rangers and indeed the goalkeeper's role in the visitors’ winner was questioned after Kevin McGowne’s speculative effort from 35 yards found its way into the net for a 1-0 victory in November 1991.

“Another Goram gooley” was what the fans were saying according to Daily Record chief football writer Alex Cameron the following Monday. “His problem is being able to concentrate for 90 minutes when very little is happening near him,” he noted. “With Hibs he was always busy.”

Cameron stressed that Goram deserved the “same break Rangers fans were eventually forced to give Mark Hateley". He added that Goram was still Scotland’s No. 1 goalkeeper, despite the latest blunder.

As for Saints, they deserved the points, having kept their heads down “like navvies on piece-work” (Cameron again). Like on Saturday, it could have been worse for Rangers. Danny McGill hit the bar early on.

As for what happened in the long term, Rangers and Goram enjoyed the last laugh. The Ibrox side won the league for the fourth year in succession and St Mirren were relegated. Not much chance of either of these two things happening this season.