ANY invitation to turn one's back on a bleak vista was never likely to be resisted as a snow-flecked wind descended maliciously from the hills and bore down on a plastic pitch that seemed to bear the bruises of a contest that survived the weather but will hopefully not endure long in the memory.

David Templeton stood in the partial shelter of a dugout and was invited to look forward after a 1-0 victory over Alloa Athletic had the dual purpose of ending Rangers' poor run against the Clackmannanshire side and keeping his side 13 points behind a Hearts team that shows no sign of flagging as it pursues the SPFL Championship with an increasing air of invincibility.

Hearts, though, visit Ibrox on Friday and Templeton had a metaphorical glance over his shoulder as he anticipated a match that falls neatly into the cliche box marked ''must-win'' for Rangers.

Templeton, who joined Rangers in 2012 after five years with Hearts, played as a wideman in Gorgie in front of a full back named Robbie Neilson who will take his pace in the dugout on Friday at Ibrox as head coach of a side that remains unbeaten in the league.

"When I broke through into the Hearts team it was Robbie who was behind me. He was always good with me and talked me through the game. He helped me a lot. It doesn't surprise me he's gone into management and done so well,'' said Templeton.

"He was always helping me. Even after games in training he would talk to me about positioning. When I was first coming through at Hearts he was the biggest influence on me in terms of the players.''

Templeton, 26, now faces his mentor in a match that could either see Hearts frank their position as champions-elect or witness Rangers sow the merest seed of doubt in a Tynecastle side that has been steeled with maturity but marked brightly by the increasing influence of young talent.

Templeton is sure Neilson has played a significant role in smoothing the progress of such as Jamie Walker, Jason Holt, Sam Nicholson, Billy King and Callum Paterson this season.

"It's always the hardest part when you first come through and he was always there to help me.,'' said Templeton with the wisdom of experience.

He has been impressed with how the youngsters he met when they were boys have grown into players of substance.

He accepts that these characters will form part of a task on Friday night that presents a great degree of difficulty but has a simple priority.

''This is game is one we have to win. There's no other way to see it,'' he said. ''They are a good bit ahead of us and we have to win to try and claw it back and hope other teams can pick up points against them,'' he added of a side that now leads the table by 13 points and has the further cushion of a peerless goal difference.

''I'm surprised at their run because I thought coming up to the difficult festive period they might have dropped points,'' said Templeton, who knows Rangers faltered badly in the same period, losing to Hibernian and Queen of the South and being dismissed from the Petrofac Training Cup by Alloa,

He winces when he recalls Hearts' 2-1 victory at Ibrox in August. ''I missed a sitter at 0-0 in that one but I felt we were the better side and should have won it.''

Admitting Rangers did not ''turn up''in the 4-0 defeat at Easter Road, he acknowledged that much of Saturday's victory at Alloa could be attributed to hard work.

''We managed to grind it out,'' he said. ''We had chances to make it more comfortable before they started to put the pressure on but when they did we managed to see it out and it was a great three points.''

Nicky Law's smart finish after Jon Daly played him in was enough to separate the sides. The goal means the midfielder is now, with 10 strikes, the top scorer in a team that can call on two recent internationalist strikers in the shape of Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd. The former missed an excellent chance on Saturday, striking the post when through on the goalkeeper, while Boyd, a substitute, was restricted to a header that flashed wide.

"When we didn't take our chances at 1-0 they were obviously going to throw everything at us near the end and they did that we managed to see it out brilliantly. It's a difficult place to come and any other team in the league would tell you that,'' said Templeton.

The conditions at times were almost absurd with goal kicks being carried back to the box on the wind and the artificial pitch looking worn and unreliable.

But Rangers prevailed for the first time in four meetings with an Alloa side who played some good football and had the outstanding player on the park in Ryan McCord who was intelligent and accomplished in midfield.

In the dugout post-match,Templeton carried the air of someone who has not enjoyed his afternoon but has derived considerable satisfaction from it. Hearts now lie in wait.

''Friday is a massive game and if we can get a win then that will give us a lot of confidence to hopefully go on an unbeaten run,'' he said in the chilled air of the Indodrill Stadium.

The atmosphere will be considerably warmer under the Ibrox lights on Friday.