COMMENT

Rangers fell to a 3-1 defeat to St Johnstone on Saturday as they missed the chance to move within two points of Premiership leaders Celtic.

The Gers took an early lead after Alfredo Morelos scored his third goal in three games but they were only in front for five minutes before Blair Alston's fantastic finish levelled the scores.

Tommy Wright's side were very well organised and Rangers struggled to break the Saints down in the opening half to any real degree.

The second-half only got worse for Rangers as they conceded two in short order as the Perth side sealed a surprise three points.

Saints took the lead in the second-half through Denny Johnstone before substitute Cummins made it 3-1 to the visitors.

With Aberdeen thumping Hibs 4-0 earlier in the afternoon, Graeme Murty's side were under massive pressure to pick up the three points and close the gap to Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic to two points.

The result now leaves the Gers three points off Aberdeen in the league table and facing a trip to face Celtic at the end of the month.

Here, Football Insider looks at three things we learned as Rangers fell to a 3-1 defeat to St. Johnstone

Click 'reveal' below to see where Rangers need to improve quickly

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Rangers start games far too slowly

For the third game in succession Rangers conceded an early goal and Murty - or whoever takes the manager's job long-term - needs to get the Ibrox side starting games much better.

The Gers were able to overcome losing an early opening goal against Ross County and Hibs to come back and take three points and conceded again against Saints after taking the lead themselves.

The Ibrox giants are making life much harder for themselves by giving away easy goals early in games and need to be much sharper from kick-off.

Losing cheap goals - and subsequently dropping points - has been a hallmark of Rangers teams over the last few years and should be a priority for any manager to deal with.

Click 'next page' below to see the Rangers star who is deserving of a new contract

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Danny Wilson deserves a new contract

Wilson splits opinion among Rangers fans and some will feel he should be one of the first players out of the door at Ibrox but since coming back into the first-team recently, the former Liverpool defender has barely put a foot wrong.

The senior player's contract is up at the end of the season and Wilson probably deserves an extended deal to stay at Ibrox.

He's never going to be the kind of defender you build a team around but he's a solid performer when he's on his game and has arguably out-performed Bruno Alves in the last few weeks.

Wilson will be far from one of the highest earners at Ibrox too and has proven to be a good player to have around the squad.

Click 'next page' below to the Rangers star who doesn't suit their narrow shape

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Daniel Candeias doesn't suit playing centrally

The Portuguese winger had been a near ever present in the starting XI before the Gers switch their shape under Graeme Murty.

Candeias has gone from one of Rangers' most effective players so far this season but has struggled to make any impact since Murty re-jigged the side's shape.

The former Benfica winger started against Saints but was largely anonymous before being hooked in the second-half with Niko Kranjcar taking his place.

If Rangers are to get anything from Candeias then they need to play him as an out-and-out winger and not use him as a number 10.

In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson has urged the Gers to sign this £4million+ dynamo who is also wanted by Celtic.

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