Kenny McDowall has told Ian Black to "wake up" and grow more mature after the midfielder's indiscipline in the defeat against Hibernian at Easter Road.

The Rangers caretaker manager substituted the Scotland internationalist after he was booked in the first half of a 4-0 defeat in the SPFL Championship match on Saturday in a move widely interpreted as McDowall trying to avoid the possibility of his player attracting a red card.

Manager and player have had talks this week and McDowall said yesterday: "He brings stuff on himself. He just has to be a bit more mature."

Black has served five suspensions in two and a half years at Ibrox and McDowall added: "He's just got to wise up a touch on the silly stuff and concentrate on his football - but he'll put himself up for it all day."

Asked if Black had been affected adversely by the off-field problems at Rangers, McDowall replied: "Possibly. Some people handle it better than others. Some people react differently."

But he added: "Blackie's the type of boy who has had it, not just at Rangers, but a bit of a reputation that makes him feel the world's against him. That's not the case and he needs to wake up and realise that."

Black, who has been sent off twice as a Rangers player and has also served a ban for breaking SFA gambling rules, has now been booked in five consecutive Championship matches.

McDowall is aware of the problem and is determined to resolve it. "Ian is a very good football player and it gets tarnished with all the rubbish that goes along with Ian Black," he said. "He's got to concentrate more on the football side of his game and leave the rest to other people."

"At this stage of his career he's got to realise it doesn't last forever and you have to make the best of it while you can.

"He's at a fantastic club and he has to grab the chance he has. Regardless of where we are, we are still the team people want to beat. People still see us as Glasgow Rangers. That's the way it will always be and Ian, at this moment in time, is part of that. He's got to want to stay part of that. He's at a fantastic club and he has to grab the chance he has."

Another Rangers midfielder moved on yesterday. Lewis Macleod joined Brentford on a three-and-a-half-year contract after passing a fitness test.

The 20-year-old will officially join the Championship side on Saturday when the January transfer window opens.

Mark Warburton, manager of Brentford, said: "I am delighted to have secured such a young talent as Lewis. He has had an outstanding season with Rangers and will be an excellent addition to the playing squad."

Nicky Law, the former Motherwell midfielder signed by Rangers in 2013, is believed to be a target for Huddersfield Town and may be another player who leaves the club in what McDowall expects to be a testing transfer window.