RANGERS delivered the sort of methodical victory and performance which allowed Walter Smith to sit back and have some fun when he was hit by a dose of transfer speculation.

What did he think of Daniel Cousin's agent, Willie McKay, claiming several English Premier League clubs were interested in signing him?

A pause, and then: "Well, everybody knows Willie. It will probably be eight clubs interested. Willie usually starts at eight and then it goes to 10 and then 12..." What about a suggestion Darren Fletcher might be arriving from Manchester United on loan? "Nah, no chance of that one. Uncle Alex wouldn't be happy with that one!"

On another day Smith might have glowered his way through such questions, but his mood was benign after a win which eased Rangers a point clear of Celtic - with a game in hand at St Mirren on Tuesday - at the top of the SPL. This time last year his second spell at Ibrox began with a 5-0 Ibrox skelping of United and if there was little of that day's verve and excitement here, there was an authority which may have been even more satisfying for his first anniversary. Rangers played within themselves and won against a United side which defended poorly to concede two goals then stayed in its shell.

There was not even the sideshow of a clash between the two men of the moment, Alan Hutton and Barry Robson. That pair amount to £11 million-worth of talent according to the valuations put on them in the past week, but Robson was played on the right wing and that meant he was not directly opposed to the full-back who rejected the chance to leave for White Hart Lane.

Hutton had a fine game, but not one that flagged him up as a £9m man, while Robson was poor in the first half but did improve when United saw a bit of the ball in the second.

If Celtic firm up their interest in him and meet Craig Levein's £2m valuation it would be based on his form for the season, not on yesterday.

There was a minute's applause in honour of Phil O'Donnell as well as a more personal gesture from Barry Ferguson. The Rangers captain wore an armband bearing a Motherwell crest and the word "captain", a mark of respect as his wife is a close friend of O'Donnell's widow Eileen. "It was a privilege to be his friend but while we have all mourned his loss he would want each of us to come back from it in the right manner," wrote Ferguson in his notes in the match programme. "Phil was a true football man."

O'Donnell's idea of a tribute wouldn't have extended to his pal scoring a goal for Rangers, but Ferguson helped himself to one anyway. It was the 39th minute when he applied the finish to a cross from Chris Burke. By then it was already apparent that United were struggling to cope with deliveries into their penalty area.

Ferguson's timing was excellent to meet Burke's cross and his header placed the ball in the corner of the net. Assistant referee Gary Sweeney thought he saw an offence and alerted Mike McCurry, but the referee overruled him and signaled for the goal to stand.

With Burke on the right and Naismith on the left Rangers had two busy players to support Daniel Cousin through the middle. Neither of them was consistent with the ball and Naismith was replaced by Nacho Novo after 70 minutes, but together they did worry United and combined for the opening goal after just nine minutes. Burke was on the touchline but cut inside Danny Grainger, United's new left-back signed from Gretna, and crossed with his left foot for Naismith to steal in front of Sean Dillon and score with a header. It was a cheap one to give away.

Conceding two headed goals was poor for a United side with Lee Wilkie and Darren Dods in central defence but their back four was unable to prevent Rangers getting crosses into the box or deal with them once they arrived. To make matters worse, when possession was being contested invariably it was a Rangers man who won any 50-50 challenge.

Levein changed it three minutes before half time, taking off Dillon and putting Willo Flood to right-back, but the formation remained the same. Rangers did not exactly pepper the United goal but Burke forced a smart save with a low shot and later saw his corner headed on to the roof of the crossbar by Hutton. United did nothing to menace the Rangers goal in the entire game.

"United are awkward to play against," said Smith. "Craig sets his team out well and they can be a danger at set-pieces." The praise was warm, although starting a match at Ibrox with an 18-year-old on loan from Leicester as the only striker was unlikely to give Rangers much trouble and it was easy to sympathise with Eric Odhiambo during his barren 51 minutes.

Ferguson's goal confirmed Rangers' win but it did little for the game and the second half was a slog. Ferguson, Kevin Thomson and Brahim Hemdani passed it around smoothly but the home side only began to buzz the United penalty area in the closing minutes. Euan McLean dived well to stop a Ferguson shot after Thomson backheeled the ball into his path, and did even better to save a Kris Boyd penalty in the last minute after a push on Novo.