It’s three cheers for Murty and Rangers again as Thistle are humbled

OPERATING on a game-by-game basis, Graeme Murty continues to make the job of managing Rangers look deceptively simple.

Popular with players and fans alike, the caretaker boss restored some good feeling to Ibrox with this most comfortable of victories — the team’s second in a week under his charge.

There was even a fairytale moment in the shape of a first Rangers goal for Ross McCrorie, a young man whose inclusion in the team showed strength of character from the interim coach.

The easier course of action would have been to restore Bruno Alves to the team after suspension but Murty chose to pull aside the vastly-experienced Portuguese internationalist and Euro 2016 winner — and tell him he was sticking with the XI that beat Hearts last weekend.

Just as at Murrayfield, Rangers scored three goals but, in truth, the resistance put up by Partick Thistle was feeble.

Murty may yet be in charge for Rangers’ next match against Hamilton in just under a fortnight but there are far stiffer challenges to come and significant underlying issues to be addressed both in terms of personnel and finance.

A sharp reminder of that arrived on Friday night when Rangers announced annual losses of £6.7 million.

After the failed monetary gamble placed on Pedro Caixinha, the new manager will need to display a talent for wheeling and dealing in order to renew the playing squad.

That man could be Derek McInnes, who has made Aberdeen strong on a fraction of Rangers’ budget but, until the situation is clarified, all Murty can do is set out a team in the way he sees best. Thus far, he is proving to be an upgrade on Caixinha.

With Alves left on the bench, Kenny Miller led the team out for the second week running, while Ryan Jack found himself free to play after winning an appeal against a red card.

Expected to make his Scotland debut at right-back against Holland on Thursday, Jack showed a rare appetite for forward manoeuvres in the early stages.

First, he forced Tomas Cerny to parry wide with a 20-yard shot. Next, he made for the byeline where he drove a hopeful ball across the six-yard box without finding a team-mate to take advantage.

Otherwise, Rangers’ preferred route forward was down the right flank with Daniel Candeias and James Tavernier taking turns to swing over a succession of crosses that kept Cerny busy. Eventually the ploy bore fruit. Miller tapped a short corner to Candeias, whose delivery was firm enough that McCrorie needed only direct it beyond the Czech goalkeeper.

Candeias has proved the most durable of Caixinha’s summer recruitments and he showed a ruthless touch to help himself to the second goal.

Jason Holt did the lead-up work as he drove into space but he would have had less room to work with had Danny Devine not come charging out of the Thistle back three in pursuit of Alfredo Morelos at the start of the move.

Holt then moved forward at pace as the remaining Thistle defenders backed off. Cerny stood up well to the midfielder’s shot but Candeias was smartly onto the rebound to finish from just inside the box.

Devine’s charge was symptomatic of a ragged Thistle performance. Territorially, they made occasional progress but the final touch, that last cross, was always missing.

After a trying start to the campaign, manager Alan Archibald had presided over a mini revival, but any hopes of something similar within this match were dispelled just after the break. This time, it was Jordan Turnbull’s mistake that let Rangers through, a weak attempt at a header back to Cerny setting Josh Windass on the chase. The keeper did not stand a prayer as the midfielder bore down and tucked away a simple finish.

Despite the visitors’ generosity, there was curiously little threat from Rangers’ principle striker.

Morelos started his Ibrox career with a blaze of goals but has not found the target since the middle of September when he scored against the same opponents in a 2-2 draw.

Archibald introduced a striking talisman of his own in Kris Doolan, who replaced Conor Sammon, and he did liven things up a bit.

He produced Thistle’s best effort of the game at the end of a slick left-wing move involving Steven Lawless and Blair Spittal but his finish skidded just wide of Wes Foderingham’s goal.

That was about it for Thistle and Murty could even afford to throw on a burly-looking Niko Kranjcar for his first league game since August as the game petered out.