STUART McCALL admitted it.

The supporters could sense it. Fourteen pairs of legs could feel it.

Rangers, quite simply ,ran out of gas towards the end of their 2-0 win over Hibernian in the first leg of the SPFL Premiership Play-Off semi-final.

McCall opted to shore up their midfield with defensive substitutions towards the end of the second half. He had to cling onto that precious advantage it had proved so difficult to carve out. Hibs, having looked far sharper in the opening 20 minutes or so, were, threatening to get back on top again.

The roar of the home supporters at the final whistle of an atmospheric and exciting Ibrox occasion was tinged with no little relief.

There will be nowhere to hide for McCall and his men at Easter Road tomorrow, though. The home side will be the fresher of the two, having spent part of the 18 days between their last league match and the opening 90 minutes of the semi-final resting up in the sunshine of La Manga while Rangers were at war with Queen of the South.

Kevin Harper was at Wednesday night's Ibrox encounter in his role as match summariser for Hibernian's official TV station and he saw enough to suggest that the Edinburgh side still have a big chance of overturning the deficit and setting up a winner-takes-all clash with Motherwell.

Harper knows the unique pressures of being embroiled in these agonising end-of-season matches, having helped Hibs avoid relegation in 1997 through beating Airdrieonians over two legs.

He can see that McCall's players are already struggling to handle the matches coming their way and believes physical pressures coupled with ever-increasing psychological demands may yet prove insurmountable obstacles.

"For me, it all comes down to whether or not Hibs score first," said Harper. "If they do, it will be huge and the tie turns.

"If they are 1-0 up going into the last 20-25 minutes on Saturday, I think Rangers will be under the cosh and there will be a nervousness there, for sure.

"I thought Rangers were out on their feet for the last 20 minutes on Wednesday. That break, meanwhile, will have done Hibs good.

"Rangers are probably fitter now than they were at the start of the season, but they may have hit a plateau because you get to a point where you can't get any fitter. You get tired.

"When you play so many games, it does take it out of your body. You'll have little knocks.

"Hibs had that 18-day break where all their knocks will have cleared up and they'll be fresh.

"I still think the tie is still finely balanced. Rangers aren't what they were a few years ago when you'd have said it was 'Game Over' at 2-0 and Hibs are a different entity now."

Rangers may not be the team of old, but the weight of expectations remains broadly the same inside Ibrox. McCall's men have to win and Harper does not envy the position they find themselves in.

"When you've been under pressure for so long and trying to win games, it takes its toll," he said. "There is huge pressure on this Rangers team right now.

"Everybody at the club wants them to go up. That's added pressure.

"They are trying just to get into a Play-Off with Motherwell. That brings even more pressure.

"Most people think the tie is over and Rangers have won, so there's even more pressure there.

"The tie is pretty much in their hands. It is up to them to lose it, almost.

"Their fans will come to Easter Road for a party, but the players will still have to go to the next level and beat Motherwell to get back to the Premiership."

"This is a one-off, almost.You need to win this game or there is no tomorrow.

"When you're playing in the league, you can lose a game, but then you can go on a run. Lose here and you're in the Championship again.

"It deflates you. Win and it gives you that impetus to go again because you have still got the dream of getting to the promised land."

Whilst it is generally accepted that McCall has brought a degree of order to what was a disorganised and dispirited Rangers dressing-room, the fact remains that those same players lost 4-0 at Easter Road on league duty in late December.

"I think that has to be in the back of their mind ahead of Saturday," stated Harper. "I think there is still a frailty there.

"They do look a lot more structured than they were before, but it comes down to fitness as well. It has been a long hard season."