DURING a frank press conference ahead of this game with Ross County, Rangers manager Mark Warburton bristled at the accusation that, after having shipped four soft goals against Hearts the previous night, his team are a group who don’t exactly make things easy for themselves.

“Don’t forget we are second in the table,” was his response, quick on the defensive. “Of course we can get better. That’s how a team learns, moves forward, gels and grows. But we are still second in the table. There is an awful lot of negativity.”

The negativity among the club’s support did not disperse on what was another frustrating 90 minutes here as his team slipped to third in the Premiership, albeit on goal difference, to Aberdeen. While they may not have lost the match – although they easily could have done – a 1-1 draw with Ross County in front of an expectant 49,000 home crowd did little to dim the spotlight on the Rangers manager or his team.

A goal down midway through the first half as Alex Schalk capitalised on more loose play at the back, Rangers were booed off at half-time before a typical second-half resurgence brought the home team level via a cute Lee Wallace striker with just under 20 minutes to play. Still, it was not enough to save Warburton or his team from a chorus of jeers from those who had decided to hang around long enough in the Govan stadium to voice their displeasure. Many had already seen enough.

“They expect Rangers to win at home,” said the Rangers manager. “I thought the support generally was good in the second half.

“I don’t think they can accuse the players of not giving everything in the second half. There was wave after wave of going forward. Wes had one save to make from a free-kick Iin the 92nd minute, That was the total of his contribution in the second half.

“The support was very good. They’re going to boo, they expect Rangers to win at home.”

Warburton had made three changes to the starting line-up that flopped under the floodlights at Tynecastle with cult hero Joe Garner coming in for Martyn Waghorn, Jason Holt replaced Andy Halliday while Rob Kiernan was taken out the firing line for Phillippe Senderos.

That reshuffle did little to cajole a sturdiness or sense of urgency into his lot during an insipid first 45 minutes that really should have seen them go into the break more than a goal down from the Schalk strike that silenced an already jittery crowd on 18 minutes. Jim O’Brien was afforded acres of space down the right and his arced pass found the on-running Schalk behind the pedestrian pairing of Senderos and Clint Hill for the Dutchman to take a touch before steering a shot beyond the sprawling Wes Foderingham.

“After the goal you saw the crowd get more nervous and they were starting to moan. We tried to turn the crowd against them and that worked in the first half,” said Schalk afterwards. “It gets in your head I think. Especially for the Rangers players when nothing is working what you are trying to do. Maybe it’s the mentality then.”

The 24-year-old somehow failed to add to his tally six minutes later on the back of a defensive calamity from Rangers. A mix up between Foderingham and Hill saw O’Brien nick the ball out wide with the keeper out of position. He squared to Schalk inside the box but, with the goal gaping, he fluffed his lines. He would also see Foderingham save an effort from range before the break after squeezing between the two Rangers centre-halves.

As already mentioned Garner was brought back in to the Rangers team on what was his first outing since Hogmanay, and it wasn’t exactly an afternoon to remember for the £1.8million man. Within the space of 60 first-half seconds he failed to connect with the ball as Scott Fox smothered at his feet only to miss a fizzing cross at the back post from James Tavernier moments later that whizzed across goal.

The former Preston man almost redeemed himself on 53 minutes when his header seemed goalbound, only for Fox to acrobatically save on the line twice to claw away any chance of a Jon Toral rebound. It would be the first of a clutch of saves from the inspired visiting goalkeeper.

By this point Rangers were being urged on by an impatient crowd as the chances started to come and the County resistance eventually gave way with only 18 minutes left. A give-and-go between Wallace and Toral carved open space in the Highlanders’ box and the Rangers captain latched on to the return to guide a low shot underneath Fox from the tightest of angles.

It triggered a late cavalry charge akin to the one that earned Rangers safe passage through in the Scottish Cup against Motherwell two weeks ago, but the end result was different this time. Instead, County deservedly claimed their third draw of the campaign against Rangers, while Warburton will be left looking at a similar figure when he glances at the Premiership table this morning.