A first half blitz from Rangers saw them defeat St Johnstone comfortably enough on a strange old afternoon at Ibrox.

It was largely a subdued atmosphere for the most part, punctured now and again with outbursts of fan protestations against those running their club and a second half walkout that seemed to split opinion within the home ranks.

On the field, first half goals from Hamza Igamane, Vaclav Cerny and Mohamed Diomande seemingly had the hosts on easy street, but a Jack Sanders header after the break gave the Saints a little glimmer of hope during what was a laboured second 45 from Philippe Clement's men.

Here are the talking points from a deflated and divided Ibrox….

Rangers fans split on how to make their feelings known

When Ibrox is full and bouncing it can be one of the most intimidating arenas in European football. But for the majority of the game, this bore more resemblance to a nice afternoon at the Elder Park Library than it did the last match to take place here, the emphatic win over Celtic that was, remarkably, not even a fortnight ago.

The stadium wasn’t full by any stretch, but still, it was quite something to witness so many people making so little noise.

It is tempting to say that the whole occasion had the feel of a pre-season friendly, but that would imply a level of conviviality. Instead, it was simply a mixture of apathy from the majority, and anger from some, with a few fans almost coming to blows in the east enclosure in front of the press box.

New Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart said in his media briefing on Saturday that the club was backing the manager – for now, at least. But the jury is no longer out when it comes to the punters.

Their verdict is in on Clement, no matter how long his goodbye may be. It was as clear as the conversations you could hear going on around you.

But the board weren’t spared either…

Union Bears give board both barrels before contentious walkout

Cries of ‘sack the board’ rang out from the section behind the goal housing the Union Bears quarter of an hour in, as they unfurled a banner which read: ‘Everything from everyone? Fans gave all while you let our standards fall. Sack the board.’

Then later in the half they chanted that their club was in the wrong hands, as they unfurled another banner proclaiming ‘Our loyalty is not a free pass for failure’. Then later, another that read ‘Time for fans to force change.’

As part of their show of disgruntlement, the ultras group had also released a statement prior to the match saying that they would walk out in the 55th minute, and urged other supporters to join them.

While some did indeed take their leave along with them, the majority booed and temporarily roused from their torpor to sing defiantly in support of their team, if not the hierarchy at their club.

What it all adds up to is a divided fanbase, and a fractured club – one that far from pulling in the same direction, seem to be pulling one another apart.

Suicidal Saints give themselves uphill battle

After a low-key opening 15 minutes, Saints manager Simo Valakari might have been quite content with how his side had settled. In a blink of an eye though they were three down, and not to detract from the efforts of the Rangers players, the goals were embarrassingly poor from a St Johnstone point of view.

Firstly, Aaron Essel fell asleep as he was caught out by a quick throw in, allowing Diomande to square to Igamane for the easiest of tap-ins. Then, a strong tackle from Robin Propper and a simple through ball from Danilo had Cerny through on debutant keeper Andrew Fisher, who must have been wondering what on earth he had signed up to.

The winger tucked it away, and soon after, the net was bulging again. Under a high cross, centre back Sanders was under no pressure, and could have done anything other than what he actually did, inexplicably popping the ball up on a plate for Diomande to nod home.

Valakari has taken some stick for trying to play expansive football when his team are sinking so deeply into the stinky stuff, and his team were wide open again here. But in mitigation, there is little the manager can do to legislate for such ineptitude from his players. Sanders somewhat redeemed himself as he scored a second half header from Max Kucheriavyi’s corner delivery.

They were always likely to take a bit of a sore one here, but perhaps their more spirited second half showing will at least offer their small band of supporters that were here hope that they have it within them to mount a great escape.

Rangers again can’t knit together two halves

The brilliant showing against Celtic apart, it was the same old story from Rangers here as they failed to piece together two decent halves of football.

Three nil up and cruising at the interval, the fans may have hoped their team would put on something of a show in the second half as payback for their backing despite their ongoing failures.

Instead, the foot came right off the gas, with their slackness allowing the Saints to get a foothold in the game, albeit the damage was long done.

Their insipid second half showing just added to the sense of flatness all around.

Igamane and Cerny exempt from criticism

That being said, and as has been the case for many weeks now, the Moroccan forward and the Czech winger have been among the few reasons to be cheerful for Rangers fans, and they were impressive again here.

Igamane took his opening goal well, and he almost had a spectacular second as his overhead kick dropped just the wrong side of the post. Cerny, for his part, also showed great composure to tuck away his side’s second of the afternoon, and was always a threat.

Along with Nico Raskin, these have been the players more than any others who have at least stepped up to the plate for Rangers these last few weeks. But they can’t carry the team alone.