THE suggestion that Rangers are on the verge of appointing a permanent replacement for Mark Warburton as manager after nearly three weeks with Graeme Murty in temporary charge will please many at Ibrox.

But not least, you suspect, Murty himself after this nerve-wracking evening in the dugout.

The caretaker had, with his team leading 2-0 thanks to a first half strike from Barrie McKay and a second half goal from Martyn Waghorn, looked poised to oversee his first Ladbrokes Premiership win with 16 minutes remaining last night.

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But nothing is ever straightforward with his side. David Wotherspoon pulled one back for the visitors just three minutes after replacing Danny Swanson and then Steven Anderson levelled at a Liam Craig corner with little over three minutes left.

It looked as if the Ibrox club had somehow managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory. But a remarkable match had a further twist to take. Emerson Hyndman slotted home in the first minute of injury-time to seal a dramatic victory.

The thrilling 3-2 victory stretched the advantage third-placed Rangers hold over their opponents in the Premiership table to nine points. With Hearts losing to Ross County at Tynecastle they are also now eight points ahead of the capital club.

This result, then, could prove significant in their bid to secure a place in Europe for the first time in six years. It could even prove a turning point in what has been, even by their recent standards, a turbulent campaign both on and off the field. At the very least, it will do wonders for morale.

There has been quite a turnaround in the space of five days. On Friday night, a 2-1 defeat to Inverness away had put them in a seemingly dire predicament. Hearts had the opportunity to pull to within two points of them and St. Johnstone three with weekend wins.

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Now, though, their position looks far healthier. Even Aberdeen, beaten once again by Hamilton at the SuperSeal Stadium on Tuesday evening, are just six points ahead. With two games still to come against the Pittodrie club anything can happen.

Clint Hill, who had sustained a whiplash injury in the defeat to Dundee last month, came in to the Rangers team at the expense of Danny Wilson while Jason Holt, who had sat out the defeat to Inverness, replaced Andy Halliday.

The changes worked well. Waghorn, Hyndman and Jon Toral all went close to opening the scoring before McKay finally put them ahead in the 22nd minute.

Hyndman, who once again impressed greatly, played a neat one-two with Kenny Miller before advancing into the St. Johnstone penalty box and having an attempt on goal blocked. The ball spun out to Wallace and he squared to McKay. The winger drilled a piledriver into the bottom left corner.

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The visitors, though, are never pushovers and their hosts certainly still, despite the return of the vastly-experienced Hill, looked vulnerable defensively. St. Johnstone certainly had their chances to level after falling behind.

Foster went the closest to netting. He rose well to meet a diagonal ball into the Rangers area from Bryan Easton wide on the left and directed a diving header towards goal. Only a fine save from Wes Foderingham denied him.

Craig should have put the Perth club level just two minutes after the restart. However, he somehow managed to nod a Keith Watson cross wide of his intended target in the six yard box.

The disappointment Craig felt at what was a poor miss was exacerbated a minute later when their Glasgow rivals netted with an almost identical move. Miller picked out Waghorn and the forward’s header spun past Clark.

Typically, Rangers made life difficult for themselves. Wotherspoon pulled one back for St. Johnstone just three minutes after rcoming on. It was arguably the goal of the evening. He turned the ineffectual Toral inside out before firing into the top right corner.

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Just four minutes after that Rob Kiernan was ordered off for a foul on Graham Cummins just in front of the St. Johnstone dugout. His team mates protested that his challenge had only merited a yellow card. But referee Kevin Clancy had little hesitation in showing him a straight red card.

Murty acted quickly to limit the damage by removing Waghorn and Toral and putting on Danny Wilson and Andy Halliday respectively. But they were unable to prevent Anderson from making it 2-2 late on.

Hyndman, though, chested the ball down and lashed an outstanding shot beyond Clark with two minutes remaining to seal what could prove a vital three points.