KRIS BOYD has called for unity as Rangers bid to get their season back on track.

The Light Blues fell nine points behind Championship title rivals Hearts as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle on Saturday.

Boss Ally McCoist came in for abuse from a section of the travelling support as tensions and fury at Rangers' on and off-field problems boiled over.

The League One champions are back in action against Kilmarnock this weekend, and former Rugby Park striker Boyd is confident McCoist and his players will emerge stronger from their current troubles.

He said: "I don't think any stick is going to affect the manager. When you go back to when he started here as a player, he has been on record as saying it has been a lot worse than that.

"We know as a squad and as a management staff, when you lose a game at Rangers then it is a crisis.

"That is what you face week in, week out here.

"We have got another challenge against Kilmarnock on Sunday that we will need to rise to.

"Then we have got a game against Alloa on the Wednesday night and we are back to league business on the Saturday.

"It is a difficult moment for us, but it is time to regroup, time for everybody to stick together and we know that if everybody sticks together then we can get ourselves out of this."

McCoist was defiant after the Gorgie defeat that Rangers' second-tier title dreams were not over this season.

Rangers head into the Killie cup clash under huge pressure, and with some fans calling for the Ibrox boss to be sacked.

Boyd could have added to McCoist's problems if he had seen red for a late lunge on defender Brad McKay.

And the striker knows Rangers must respond in the right manner as they look to clinch a fifth-round berth this weekend.

Boyd, speaking to Sky Sports News to promote Sky's coverage of Rangers v Kilmarnock on Sunday, said: "We find ourselves in a difficult situation after the game on Saturday. We kept going right till the end but, ultimately, we lost the game and need to regroup now.

"It would be quite easy for everyone to throw in the towel and let Hearts win the league, but we can't do that. We know we've got a massive job ahead of us in the next few months.

"We came off the back of losing to Hibs and went nine or 10 matches unbeaten, so hopefully we can do the same thing again.

"We need to keep the pressure on because we know that Hearts can't go the whole season without losing points.

"Of the tackle, that was not like me. I was lucky to stay on the field … but it's happened and now we move on."