Rangers 4 Dumbarton 1

McCoist’s men give sons what four.

It was once said that if you learn from defeat, you have not really lost.

Rangers fans hoped that would prove to be the case after their team were beaten by Hearts on the opening day of the season.

Surely that would act as a dramatic wake-up call for a side facing one of the biggest seasons in their history. Things didn’t quite happen that way.

Instead, a fortunate victory over Falkirk seems to have proved an early turning point in the season for Ally McCoist’s men.

Rarely has a win been accompanied by such criticism. A lack of urgency and tempo in midfield was the main bugbear with supporters. There are now signs of the penny dropping in the Rangers team.

They demolished Clyde 8-1 in midweek and followed that up with a comfortable victory over the Sons.

Things still aren’t as fluent or as clinical as the supporters would like but they can have little complaint about the application of the players.

Rangers were never in danger of losing this match after going ahead in 15 minutes. Dumbarton haven’t yet found the form that saw them finish in fifth place last season and didn’t pose a major threat to the home goal.

The visitors packed the midfield, sat back, and challenged Rangers to force their way past a dogged defence. Deploying Lee McCulloch in midfield instead of defence is having a positive impact on performances.

He has never been the paciest player and there’s no prospect of him suddenly becoming a box-to-box defender. He does, however, have a presence that inspired those around him. The skipper was always anxious to take the ball from his defenders and get it moving. That sort of urgency proved to be infectious in the Rangers team.

What the Ibrox fans really crave is entertainment from their team. McCulloch is certainly proving a lot more effective that Ian Black in the deep-lying midfield role.

McCoist values results above all else, but the paying punters would also like a little excitement for their money. That’s something that’s been scarce over the last couple of years.

Once the novelty of lower league football wore off, the slow slog up the divisions became a bit of a chore. Yesterday, there was one little passage of play that showed what the fans want. Bilel Mohsni, Lee Wallace and Lewis MacLeod produced a move involving four one-touch passes.

Nothing came from it but spontaneous applause broke out from the stands.

Rangers made a slightly nervous start but settled into a comfortable rhythm once McCulloch volleyed home a corner after quarter of an hour. It was a goal that certainly settled McCoist. He was prowling the technical area with a trademark arms-folded pose until the opener arrived, which allowed him to take a seat and watch his side add three more.

On the half-hour mark, Darren McGregor’s impressive strike doubled their advantage. On 54 minutes, McGregor’s long throw was nodded back by Kris Boyd, allowing Nicky Clark to swivel before slamming his shot in off the upright.

The last 15 minutes saw two own-goals, one for each team, with Chris Turner and Mohsni the culprits. McCoist’s side’s progress will surely bring him some contentment.