THE first goal got Rangers off and running and the second clinched the victory. From then on, it was a matter of how many.

In the end, Steven Gerrard’s side stopped at five. In truth, it could, and should, have been far worse for Hamilton as they were outplayed and outclassed on a forgettable afternoon for boss Brian Rice.

The chances of Accies causing an upset here were always remote, and from the moment Ryan Jack fired Rangers ahead after just 18 minutes, they were staring at a heavy defeat.

This turned out to be one of the Gers’ most comfortable wins of the campaign but they didn’t need to produce one of their best performances to attain it. They were far superior to their hosts, but didn’t have to hit any heights to get back to winning ways in the Premiership following their stalemate with St Johnstone last weekend.

Only time will tell how costly that draw proves to be to Rangers’ title ambitions. All Gerrard’s side can do for now is keep ticking off the games and the wins and see where it takes them.

Victories at venues such as this won’t go down as the most important over the course of the season, but on a day when anything other than three points would have been hugely damaging, there were plenty of positives for Gerrard to take.

It was a win earned thanks to a superior collective performance, but there were a number of impressive individual ones in it as well. Now, the focus will shift to Dundee on Wednesday night and another game that is must win.

The Light Blues have found it difficult to break down stubborn defences at times this term and the fear for the travelling support would have been that Accies would have been able to stifle and frustrate. That worry didn’t last long.

There was no Alfredo Morelos for Gerrard to call upon as the four-goal hero from the win over Kilmarnock in midweek served the final match of his three-game ban. This time, his absence didn’t prove costly for Rangers, though.

At the other end, this was as a low-key return for Allan McGregor. The keeper had served his own suspension that he picked up at Pittodrie but he had almost nothing to do as Rangers played on the front foot from the first minute to the last.

The lovely finish from Jack, the midfielder curling a shot into the corner from 20 yards, broke Hamilton’s resistance and when the second goal followed inside a minute later, Rangers were sensing a high-scoring victory.

Jermain Defoe had passed up a promising chance in the opening stages as he fired a shot at keeper Gary Woods when he really should have found the net. When he got his next sight of goal, he made no mistake as he nodded home a teasing cross from James Tavernier.

That was that as far as the outcome was concerned. It would have been easy for Rangers to let their levels drop and slip into cruise control, but the third and fourth goals arrived before the break.

Unsurprisingly, Hamilton’s policy of standing off the Rangers midfield when they were in shooting range wasn’t paying off. With time and space, Scott Arfield was able to pick his spot and his effort left Woods with no chance.

As the ball nestled into the top corner, Gers fans would have started to think ‘how many?’. Hamilton, on the other hand, were fearing the worst.

They had been somewhat complicit in their own downfall until now, and they were so once again before the break. Ziggy Gordon fouled Ryan Kent and Tavernier made no mistake with an assured finish from the spot.

The smiles as the Rangers players made their way off at half-time said it all. They knew the game was won and the job was done.

It should have been 5-0 shortly after the restart but Arfield tried to square the ball to Kent when a shot was a better option and the chance was lost. An opening for Defoe met a similar fate as he and then Daniel Candeias were denied.

Gerrard made the most of the chance to give Steven Davis and Kyle Lafferty some much-needed game time as Arfield and Kent were replaced after impressive shifts. It was a further show of strength from Rangers.

Neither Northern Irishman has really shown what was expected of them during their respective outings this season and the minutes here were more than welcomed and productive for each of them.

Davis couldn’t find the target with a free-kick from a promising area, while Lafferty came close on a couple of occasions as Rangers continued to press for a fifth goal, even if the verve had been taken out of their play by this stage.

With just seconds remaining, it arrived. Candeias burst down the right, slid the ball across and Lafferty beat Woods with a clinical finish to round it off.

Gerrard was satisfied with the goals and the points, while Rice would have been relieved that the scoreline hadn’t become too damaging for Hamilton.

A storming first half had been followed by a relatively calm second. It all added up to a pleasing afternoon for Rangers, however.