WHERE would Rangers be without the growing influence of young Lewis Macleod?

There is one clear answer to that question: considerably further behind Hearts in the SPFL Championship than they are at the moment.

The 20-year-old midfielder stood head and shoulders above everyone during this mildly disappointing affair in West Lothian and produced the one moment of unquestionable quality, an outrageous overhead kick from Ian Black's cross after just seven minutes, to make the difference.

With six goals to his credit this season, Macleod's composure in key positions, in addition to his overall standard of play, has been a welcome addition to a team which is finding it alarmingly difficult to create and convert opportunities.

Only two of Macleod's impressive haul have been delivered on league duty, but both have been hugely important. His first came with 12 minutes left of a torrid visit to Falkirk, in which Rangers had only managed to stay on level terms thanks to a couple of fantastic saves from their goalkeeper, Cammy Bell. His second, in Livingston on Saturday, probably kept Ally McCoist in a job. Dropping points in this match as Hearts brushed aside Queen of the South would surely have made it impossible for the Rangers manager to withstand the rumbling sense of dissatisfaction within his club's support.

McCoist's side deserved their victory but, as is their wont, they made unnecessarily heavy weather of it. Had Black not been on hand 17 minutes from the end to clear a Kyle Jacobs header off the line, things could have been altogether different.

Rangers did create chances on Saturday. They just could not finish them. Kris Boyd, incredible as it is to conclude, should not be playing. His head drops ever more from week to week. Indeed, losing his appeal against a Scottish Football Association suspension on Thursday might not be a bad thing because he looks like a guy who needs to work on things for a while, including his sharpness, out of the public eye.

Jon Daly replaced him after 65 minutes in Livingston and attracted attention for nothing other than an appalling attempt late on when he sliced the ball high and wide from around 15 yards out.

How McCoist, an arch finisher himself, of course, must thank his lucky stars that Macleod has recovered both from the virus which curtailed his campaign last season and the ankle problem that caused him to go off early in a 1-1 draw in Alloa and miss the humiliating 3-1 capitulation to Hibernian at Ibrox.

That Rangers rediscovered winning ways when the Scotland under-21 player returned to the team is no coincidence. The goal aside, Macleod showed drive from midfield, a willingness to track back and win possession and some wonderful touches, including a delicious little moment early in the second half when he flipped the ball over Michael McKenna's head to send Lee Wallace scampering down the left flank.

The discussions never end, though, over how Rangers can actually start looking like a side that spends millions of pounds more on its footballing department than anyone else in the Championship and it is impossible not to wonder what might happen should Macleod find himself fielded in his natural central position rather than out on the left. Nicky Law and Black are hardly irreplaceable there.

"It never goes through my head to jump off the ground and bicycle kick the ball," said Richard Foster, the Rangers right-back. "That's the sign of a top, top player. He's only young and he's doing that already. There are only one or two players who would think of that, never mind doing it."

One guy certainly incapable of doing it at the moment is Boyd. Of all the chances passed up at the weekend, Boyd was guilty of squandering the best - the striker missing the ball completely following an excellent cutback from Foster. "Maybe I should have just hit it [myself], although I don't know if the outcome would have been any different," he added.

With Livingston having lost to Hearts and Rangers in consecutive weeks, it seemed natural to ask them how it is likely to pan out. "I don't think either of them will run away with it," said striker Gary Glen, who also missed a fine chance on Saturday. "The 5-0 result at Tynecastle [against Hearts] was down to the fact we didn't turn up on the day."