THERE was only ever going to be one winner at Ibrox yesterday.

With Charles Green at a safe distance at his home in Normandy, this match became a mini-referendum on the abilities of Ally McCoist as Rangers manager and he won it by a landslide. This was a far more eloquent statement than anything said in haste after last week's Scottish League Cup embarrassment in Forfar.

Everything was too comfortable yesterday for genuine thoughts of revolution. Sandy Jardine, returning to Ibrox for the first time in months after treatment for cancer, got the feelgood factor rolling when he unfurled the third division flag.

Any concerted protests against Green were confined to one corner of the Broomloan Stand. Fans there threw toilet roll on to the pitch, chanted against the current board and unfurled banners carrying such statements as No Green In Rangers and End The Rangers Soap Opera, but for once the players were determined not to make a drama out of a crisis.

Full-back Chris Hegarty got the club's SPFL League One campaign up and running with a goal inside two minutes and when McCoist goes through the video analysis he may find it remarkable his side didn't rack up double figures.

Jon Daly and Nicky Law were added to the side as trialists but while the latter was the best player on the park, Daly was the main culprit in his side's story of missed chances. "Jon had one of those days but I've had a couple of them myself out there and I told him that," McCoist said. "He'll be fine, I have no doubts about his pedigree and on another day the big man would have been heading home with the match ball."

The manager added: "I had a cup of tea with Sandy before the game and I can't tell you how good it was to see him back. He told me it was a terrific honour for him to unfurl the flag, but I think it was more of an honour for us to have him do it.

"The fans turned up again in incredible numbers and they gave the team terrific backing. They've been great to me and all that does is make me more determined to do my best for them."

Law's driving run and shot, which spun into Hegarty's path in the six-yard box, led to the opening goal. The former Motherwell man added a second by bursting into space before firing sweetly into a bottom corner from 20 yards six minutes ahead of the break.

The Brechin goal, protected by the outstanding Graeme Smith, was leading a charmed life, and Glebe Park and centre-half Steven Jackson got an unlikely goal back with an overhead kick into the net in the 65th minute.

But much to home manager Ray McKinnon's chagrin, referee George Salmond felt Paul McLean had barged Andy Little inside the box after 81 minutes. Salmond sent off the full-back and Ian Black knocked in the rebound from his saved penalty for 3-1. "I haven't seen it but the players thought it was very, very soft," McKinnon said. "He was going away from goal, so I am not sure about the decision to send Paul off. It was definitely a game changer."

The icing on the cake came from Dean Shiels, a man determined to make up for a poor first season with Rangers which was curtailed by a knee injury in March. He curled in a lovely fourth goal, and marked the occasion by embracing physio Steve Walker. McCoist said: "It was a great wee moment between the two of them because it's been hard for Dean watching his team-mates train while he's headed straight for the gym."