As the Rangers fans slinked out of Ibrox on Saturday after yet another poor show, one punter could not resist letting rip.

Yelling a tirade of abuse as the players trudged off the pitch, he did not miss those who he had turned up to back.

He was not alone in making his feelings known.

A cacophony of boos echoed around the sparsely-filled ground, with a banner unfurled by the vociferous Union Bears proclaiming 'less tweeting, more training'.

And given the paucity of quality on offer, you could hardly blame them.

Ally McCoist was defensive of his side afterwards, insisting that it was a hard point gained rather than two lost, but in his private moments he must despair about the genuine lack of quality in the squad.

As he is at pains to point out, he does not have a vast amount of depth and he is probably the only Rangers manager who has had to scrape around in order to bolster his numbers.

But the bottom line is that a team of players with internationalists such as Lee Wallace, Lee McCulloch and Neil Alexander in it, ought to be good enough to beat Stirling Albion; Saturday's draw means that they have taken five points from Rangers this season.

The most galling thing about Saturday's display was not the result, as shocking as it was, but rather the sheer ineptitude of the fare on offer.

Rangers created three early chances, Kane Hemmings spurned every one, and after that there was very little else from the Ibrox side.

In fact, there is a sound argument to suggest that it was the visitors who had the better of the chances created.

All in all it matters little. Rangers will win the league, it is simply a matter of when.

But for those who follow the club, these recent months ought to be cause for alarm at the pedestrian standard Rangers are playing at.

News that the Queen's Park game in Annan had fallen victim to the weather before a ball had been kicked ruled out the chance of a title party on Saturday, but that flatness seemed to linger throughout the whole afternoon.

Even the fans seemed fed up with it all. The biting cold meant many stayed away and those who did turn up did not find much to shout about.

Hemmings, who was knocking in the goals during a loan spell with Irn-Bru First Division Cowdenbeath, looked like a rabbit caught in the headlamps.

And with Andy Little away on international duty with Northern Ireland, Ian Black suspended, Fran Sandaza serving a club suspension and Lee McCulloch at the back, there was nothing on offer from Gers in the final third.

The ball went from back to middle and back again with no invention and no imagination to interrupt it.

McCoist has had to rely on youngsters this term and there is an argument that in games such as Saturday's that it is asking a lot of players such as Robbie Crawford and Barrie McKay to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

But those around them should be able to.

It also seemed a waste to have McCulloch at the back when it just wasn't working further up the pitch.

It would have made sense to push McCulloch up field in the hope of providing some impetus and unsettling a Stirling defence who were not greatly troubled for the duration.

It is a mark of how influential Lewis MacLeod has been for the club that his absence was noticed by supporters.

The teenager is unlikely to play again this season as he recuperates following ankle ligament damage, but he seems to be capable of giving Rangers that something different in the middle of the park.

Next up for the Ibrox side is Montrose next weekend. They require to win the game and look for Queen's Park to drop points as they host Elgin at Hampden to tie up the title.

It is perhaps indicative of the season as a whole that they find themselves limping towards the finish line.

They have been well short of the quality and consistency expected of them.

For McCoist, who played in Rangers teams that hosted some of the greatest players in the club's history, he will know that this team is light years behind the standard required.

Correcting it, however, remains a serious job in progress.