THERE was a time not that long ago when football matches at Ibrox were raucous occasions.

Now about the only thing that gets Rangers fans on their feet, shaking their fists and screaming in fury at their stadium is the AGM.

Ally McCoist's side got back to winning ways in the SPFL Championship with a 2-0 triumph over Livingston at home on Saturday.

It was a welcome result after the hugely costly 2-0 loss they had suffered to Queen of the South at Palmerston Park eight days earlier.

And it was much-needed after the further bout of unsettling off-field turmoil that followed the surprise resignation of McCoist.

Yet, the performance they produced did little to instil confidence in their beleaguered followers that league leaders Hearts can be caught and overtaken.

The visitors dominated large swathes of the match and would have secured a draw if they had possessed more composure in the final third.

A dearth of creativity in their general play and a lack of ruthlessness up front once again almost cost the League One champions the victory.

Only an own goal by Livingston defender Simon Mensing in the second half ensured they killed the game off and collected all three points.

And the small number - by Rangers standards at least - of supporters in the stands and the lack of atmosphere they generated was a concern for them.

The official attendance given for the game was 28,053 - the smallest turnout for a league match at Ibrox since way back in 1986.

There were, though, far fewer than that inside the Govan ground. Far, far fewer.

Rangers chairman David Somers admitted after the game against Cowdenbeath earlier this month that season ticket holders who had not turned up had been included in the gate.

That was without doubt once again the case at the weekend. There were certainly more empty seats than occupied ones inside the eerily silent ground.

Rangers winger Fraser Aird opened the scoring in the first half with a sweet strike from an acute angle on the edge of the opposition area.

But his stunning effort, one of the best goals that has been scored by Rangers in the 2014/15 campaign, drew only muted applause.

Michael Mols, the former Dutch internationalist and Rangers striker, got a much bigger cheer when he came out to do the half-time draw.

There is much wrong at Rangers - a troubled institution that made an £8million loss in the last financial year - both on the field of play and off it at the moment.

The team getting back to the sort of form that saw them go on an impressive eight-game winning streak earlier this season would not go amiss.

But of greater importance is addressing the myriad issues which have caused droves of long-suffering fans to turn their backs on their beloved club in disgust.

Derek Llambias, who was confirmed as the latest Light Blues chief executive on Friday, has already identified that as one of his priorities.

"We need to re-establish credibility with the fans and that is going to be very difficult," he admitted at a meeting of the new Rangers Fans Board last month.

After years of excessive bonuses, onerous contracts and highly dysfunctional working practices, it is hard to remember the Rangers board ever actually having credibility with the supporters.

Nevertheless, Llambias is correct to give mending the fractured relationship between the club and its customer base precedence in his new role.

The club desperately needs the income they bring in to aid their financial difficulties and the team needs their backing at games to land silverware.

The supporters who gathered in the singing section of the Broomloan Road Stand at the weekend belted out chants of "Sack the board!", "Easdale! Easdale! Get to f***!" and "Rangers Football Club is in the wrong hands!" during the game.

They were a reminder of the strength of feeling that exists among many about how the 54-times Scottish champions have been run in the past and are being run.

Whether he can do anything to placate them and persuade more people to file through the turnstiles on match days remains to be seen.

His predecessor Graham Wallace, the former chief operating officer of Manchester City, was certainly unable to despite his highly impressive credentials.

Some remain convinced that Mike Ashley, who the new chief executive worked with during his years in charge at Newcastle United, is only involved to protect his Sports Direct deals.

So much hinges on what Ashley, who has loaned Rangers £3million to keep them afloat, intends to do in the future or, for that matter, is allowed to do by the SFA.

However, the Englishman has an estimated personal wealth of nearly £4billion and could, if he was so inclined, make a real difference to their fortunes as they bid to return to the forefront of the Scottish game and get back into Europe.

But challenging their Old Firm rivals Celtic for the SPFL Premiership title and competing in the Champions League seem unobtainable objectives for Rangers on match days at Ibrox at the moment.