Mark Atkinson reports from Ibrox.
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00:00Good evening from Ibrox. Mark Atkinson here for the Scotsman where it has
00:04finished Rangers 3 St. Johnston 1. The action on the pitch completely
00:10overshadowed by the event off it. Of course this game was played amid a
00:14backdrop of fan protests and a planned walkout and to be honest didn't really know
00:20where to look for much of this match whether it was what was going on on the
00:23pitch or in the stands off it. The Union Bears who of course are one of the most
00:28prominent fan groups here at Ibrox had called for them and their support
00:33fellow supporters to walk out in the 55th minute in protest against the
00:37running of this club and the tenure of manager Philbeak Clamont and that did
00:42actually happen on 55 minutes. They left with a few others in the stadium
00:46but I would also add the majority stayed. There was actually quite a lot of booing
00:50of the Union Bears actions. By this point Rangers were 3-1 up. In fact
00:55Rangers were 3-0 up after 26 minutes. Ironically one of their best opening
01:00half hours of the season I would say. They completely tore St. Johnston to
01:03shreds and scored goals through Hamza Igemani, Vaclav Cerny and Mohamed Diamande.
01:09Amid all of this we had banners from the Union Bears saying that the hierarchy
01:15had essentially fallen asleep at the wheel saying that their loyalty was being
01:19taken for granted. We had a few arguments, a few rammies
01:22between supporters in the main stand, some who were applauding Union Bears'
01:27point of view, others who were saying look support the team and we had a chant
01:32of sack the board and Glasgow Rangers were in the wrong hands. So it really all
01:36kicked off. I think Rangers players looked a bit stung by it all. They actually
01:40rose to the occasion and showed that they can indeed play really good
01:45football. You must remember that Rangers despite being 15 points off Celtic in
01:48the league have had some fantastic results and performances this season.
01:51It's the inconsistency of this team that really causes consternation for
01:57Rangers fans and of course the fact that Celtic are so far ahead of them. Once the
02:02walkout had taken place the game really settled into a sophorific event. It was
02:07it was pure fear. Rangers of course have so many injuries and when they
02:10changed their starting XI there was no real validity whilst St. Johnston who
02:14are now nine points adrift at the bottom of the table played like a team that
02:18looks destined for the championship. Manager Simo Balacarri needs to bring in a lot of new
02:23players one would say if they're to have any chance of staying up. The storyline
02:26though really is all about Rangers. They've won here by three goals to one
02:30but it's not a happy place Ibrox. It's a fractured stadium, a fractured
02:33environment for these players to play in and they're all back here on Wednesday
02:37night when Aberdeen who of course were nine points ahead of Rangers at one point
02:41this season come to try and reignite their battle for second place. You'd say
02:46if Rangers win that game they'd have got ten points clear in that position and would all but secure
02:50that berth. They're in no man's land a little bit Rangers. What they can do now
02:55is try and keep three good performances together and finish here at Ibrox. Rangers 3 St. Johnston 1.