THIS Rangers squad have a point to prove to themselves and Pedro Caixinha between now and the end of the season. Another two evaded them at Rugby Park.

The arrival of Caixinha was a chance for a group of players who have underachieved and underperformed throughout the campaign to make inroads into repairing some of the self-inflicted damage.

It is also an opportunity for the Portuguese to assess what he has inherited and to consider who stays and who goes in the summer. After three games, Caixinha has plenty to ponder.

Rangers followed up their draw against Motherwell on Saturday with another here as they were held by Kilmarnock. The hosts were pleased with their point, but this was two more dropped by Rangers.

Their chances of catching Aberdeen in the Premiership are surely now over. That doesn’t diminish the importance of the visit to Pittodrie on Sunday, however.

It will be another enlightening afternoon for Caixinha. Every match has taught him something, and events in Ayrshire weren’t all positive for the Portuguese.

The travelling Gers support that made their way to Rugby Park knew what to expect from Caixinha’s side after he named his starting line-up at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

It meant starts for David Bates and Myles Beerman in a new-look Light Blues defence, while there was a place for Joe Garner alongside Martyn Waghorn as Kenny Miller dropped out.

The Killie clash was always going to be a tricky one for Rangers but the loss of Lee Wallace, Clint Hill and Lee Hodson would have given Lee McCulloch’s side an extra sense of belief.

Caixinha expressed his confidence that Bates and Beerman would be up to the task, though, as he put his faith in two prominent members of the Under-20 squad.

There would undoubtedly have been some nerves for the pair and that showed for Bates in particular in the opening stages. He was charged down within seconds of kick-off and his distribution from the back could have been better.

The 20-year-old grew into the encounter, though, while Beerman looked decent at left-back as he battled with Conor Sammon and attempted to make his presence felt in the final third.

Rangers returned to the dressing room at the interval having failed to break the deadlock, but the newest members of Caixinha’s team would have been content with their efforts.

There was much to ponder for the Gers boss, however. His side could easily have been ahead but Kilmarnock had chances of their own and were more than in the game.

The first opening came after just two minutes as Gary Dicker met a Jordan Jones free-kick. Thankfully for Rangers, keeper Wes Foderingham was in the right place at the right time to stop the defender’s header as Caixinha’s side survived an early scare.

It was one of the few times that Foderingham was forced into action but he had to be alert as Killie attempted to break on the counter attack. He would have breathed a sigh of relief when Sammon’s cross from the right almost found the top corner.

Rangers had chances of their own but McCulloch’s side weren’t exactly under siege and the Light Blues would have to improve after the break for the second consecutive match.

Garner and Waghorn both put in a shift at the head of the attack but they couldn’t find the route to goal.

It took until the 20th minute for the Gers to force Freddie Woodman into action, the keeper saving well after Beerman drove forward and picked out Emerson Hyndman inside the area.

The American has shown that he knows the route to goal during his short stint at Ibrox and he almost added to his tally after good play from Waghorn down the right. Hyndman couldn’t force the ball home at the front post, though.

The next two chances both came in quick succession. The first saw Garner’s header saved by Woodman before Waghorn couldn’t keep his effort down after McKay and Jason Holt worked a short corner.

There was no hat-trick of enforced switches at the break from Caixinha this time around but he did turn to his bench as Miller replaced Hyndman. The reshuffle saw Waghorn move to the right of the Gers’ 4-2-3-1 line-up and Caixinha’s side picked up where they left off as they pushed for an opening.

Garner was again denied by Woodman as the keeper pushed his powerful header onto the bar before referee Alan Muir wrongly waved away a strong penalty claim as the ball struck Sammon’s arm.

Much like the second half on Saturday, the game became open and turned into an end-to-end affair. James Tavernier saw a header blocked before Garner’s low drive from distance was held by Woodman.

It was the striker’s final contribution of the night as Joe Dodoo took his place up front with 20 minutes remaining. The clock was against Rangers.

There was still time for the Gers to snatch a winner, but Killie still fancied their chances of taking all three points as well. A series of crosses into the area went unconverted, but it was a spell of pressure that helped to rouse the home support.

Caixinha’s final throw of the dice was Josh Windass as replaced Waghorn. There was little the Rangers boss could do now but hope that his side could find a way to breach the blue and white line that stood between them and victory.

It was turning into one of those nights for Rangers. The winner never came, and it never really looked like it would.

Tavernier fired a free-kick over with just seconds to go in what proved to be their final chance of the game. They would have to settle for a point.