Rangers returned to profitable methods in opposition to St Johnstone on Wednesday night time - however there extra aid than rejoicing when the ultimate whistle sounded at McDiarmid Park.
Glen Kamara 's third minute aim appeared to set the tone for the Premiership champions to roar again to type however what adopted was a turgid affair on an, admittedly, horrible pitch.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's facet acquired the job achieved to stay in contact with leaders Celtic however followers had been lower than thrilled with an unconvincing efficiency.
As Rangers toiled to seek out their rhythm, it was extensively famous that the supervisor determined to not flip to his bench even as soon as.
It adopted related observations on the weekend when solely Vogue Sakala was given the nod to try to salvage three factors in opposition to Motherwell.
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It is led to supporters and pundits, together with Kris Boyd, questioning why Van Bronckhorst has been reluctant to make in-game modifications, particularly now managers are permitted 5 subs.
However is the Ibrox boss actually that reluctant to freshen issues up?
Document Sport On-line seems at how the Dutchman has utilised his bench compared to different managers within the prime six since his first outing on November 28.
Premiership prime six, complete subs and subs per-game
Rangers
3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 2, 1, 0
40 subs in 16 video games, common 2.5 per-game.
Celtic
3, 3, 3, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4, 3, 1, 5
49 subs in 15 video games, common 3.3 per-game.
Hearts
3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 4, 5, 3, 3, 5, 3
52 subs in 15 video games, common 3.5 per-game.
Hibernian
3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
58 subs in 17 video games, common 3.4 per-game.
Dundee United
1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 2, 3, 4,
45 subs in 15 video games, common 3 per-game.
Livingston
3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3,
52 subs in 16 video games, common 3.25 per-game.
What does it imply?
At face worth, it confirms Rangers' followers remark that Van Bronckhorst shouldn't be turning to his bench as recurrently as different managers within the division.
Rangers have made the fewest subs of any group within the prime six since he arrived with a median of simply 2.5 per recreation.
When the 5 sub rule was retained, there have been ideas it will profit the likes of Celtic and Rangers essentially the most, given their respective depth of squad compared to the remainder of the Premiership.
However the one time Van Bronckhorst has utilised the complete quota was when his group had been already 5-0 up in opposition to Hearts.
They've made solely six modifications from a doable 20 within the final 4 matches, dropping 4 factors within the course of.
Wednesday night time's slog at McDiarmid seemed like the right alternative to introduce some freshness however Van Bronckhorst determined in opposition to any subs in any respect, insisting they weren't wanted.
He stated: "Typically you alter to show issues round or to alter one thing however I didn’t really feel like we wanted a change.
"I used to be so centered on the sport to get the win after 90 minutes so I didn’t take into consideration any modifications."
It feels as if most of those that caught out a taxing hour-and-a-half really feel otherwise.
True, Rangers acquired the required outcome and St Johnstone by no means seemed like equalising however the champions not often threatened to place the sport out of sight, both.
Solely Van Bronckhorst will know why however his clarification did little to quell claims he doesn't belief the gamers in reserve to ship what he desires.
However there is a clear danger in resisting modifications given how packed Rangers schedule is and has been for almost all of the season.
Gamers will get drained. Primarily based on final night time's show, some already are.
However nonetheless the likes of Amad Diallo, Vogue Sakala, Kemar Roofe, Scott Wright, Borna Barisic and Alex Lowry remained sidelined.
It is not just like the supervisor would not have choices, which makes it all of the extra puzzling as to why he at the moment appears reluctant to make use of them.
It is arduous to dismiss the concept Van Bronckhorst is unconvinced by quite a lot of.