THE Union Bears have become the voice of Ibrox in recent years as they have provided a vocal and colourful backing from the stands. On Sunday, they certainly spoke for the Rangers support.

For once, it was their silence that said it all as they watched on virtually motionless throughout the afternoon in protest at the way their club is being managed at all levels. Their message – ‘No fight, no pride, nowhere to hide. Incompetent on and off the pitch. We deserve better’ - was damning for the players on the park and for the directors off it.

The fall-out from the Old Firm humiliation against Celtic has been severe for Rangers, and manager Graeme Murty in particular. It is the supporters that have gone through the emotional wringer the most, though.

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The anger, the frustration, the disappointment, that has been stored up throughout a shambolic campaign has come to the fore and it was no surprise to see blue seats scattered around Ibrox for the penultimate home game of the term.

A sense of apathy hung in the air. A team that had shown no fight or desire against Celtic couldn’t show a rousing reaction, while Hearts were going through the motions as they cross off the days on their calendar until the summer break.

This was almost a free-hit for Craig Levein’s side but they never looked like landing any decisive blows. Rangers were there for the taking, yet there was little verve or energy about the visitors and even the Jambos support were subdued as they watched on.

In the end, it was the side with something to play for that emerged victorious over the one with nothing to play for. A Jason Cummings strike and header from Daniel Candeias proved just enough, although the closing stages were tense after Christophe Berra had given Hearts a lifeline.

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In terms of a response in adversity, this wasn’t exactly what the Ibrox crowd would have had in mind. The points were more important than the performance, however, as the three-way fight to be second in the Premiership enters its final four games.

Murty was without the services of Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller after they were suspended for their part in the dressing room bust-up at Hampden last weekend. Having been told to stay away while an internal investigation is carried out, both would have had to watch on from afar.

There was no place for Wes Foderingham, with a shoulder injury ruling the keeper out, while Greg Docherty, Andy Halliday and Alfredo Morelos were dropped.

Murty expressed his confidence pre-match that his side would pull in the one direction and would react in the right manner to a performance and defeat that was up there with the most abject a Light Blues outfit had produced in quite some time.

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This was better. It certainly wasn’t quite as heartless but there was little to get the fans off their seats, never mind get them back on side.

Rangers saw plenty of the ball but didn’t do enough with it in a low-key first half. Of the chances they did create, only one was clear cut as Josh Windass slipped the ball through to Jamie Murphy.

His low shot across goal was well saved by Jon McLaughlin but it was one of the few times the Hearts keeper was tested as efforts from Cummings and Ross McCrorie failed to trouble him. A Russell Martin header was closer, but not close enough, as he flicked a Graham Dorrans cross just over the bar.

Earlier in the campaign, it would have been expected for a chorus of boos to greet Rangers as they made their way off at half-time. The reaction was hardly vociferous, though.

Another banner - this one reading ‘Mindless behind the scenes. Heartless on the pitch. We deserve better’ – greeted Murty’s side as they re-emerged and it took Rangers less than two minutes to break the deadlock.

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Murphy burst down the left flank and found Candeias after he had drifted in from the right. The Portuguese took a touch, kept his composure and teed up Cummings for him to sweep the ball beyond McLaughlin. Finally, Ibrox had a reason to celebrate.

It was the start of a period of relative domination for Rangers and the decisive second goal arrived not long after the hour mark. Both wide players were involved once again.

Murphy’s cross from the left was teasing and Candeias’ header was emphatic. A win that many feared would never materialise was now in sight.

Like when he scored against Hamilton in September, the 30-year-old sprinted towards the dugout in celebration. On that occasion, it was Pedro Caixinha that was his target. Here, there was a brief acknowledgement to Murty before he picked out Halliday and the remainder of the squad came together on the touchline.

Within minutes, it was those in the opposite technical area that were celebrating, however. Somehow, Hearts had a hope as Berra connected with a Don Cowie free-kick and powered a header beyond Jak Alnwick.

The keeper was left helpless when Kyle Lafferty cut inside and curled a shot off the far post. With 15 minutes remaining, the job was far from done for Rangers.

Cummings couldn’t ease the nerves as he fired straight at McLaughlin after a mistake from Berra but there was to be no late blow for Murty to stomach.

The fans had made their point and Rangers had secured their three. Many more will be made, and many more need to be earned, before the end of the campaign.