THE next game is always the most important and, for the first time this season, it is one Rangers now head into on the back of a league defeat.

It is an unfamiliar position for Mark Warburton’s side but a new situation they must deal with and a new challenge they must overcome.

A home fixture against Alloa may not normally get the pulses racing amongst the Ibrox crowd but the Championship clash on Saturday is a significant one for the Light Blues.

Having gone into their top of the table showdown with Hibernian on Sunday with their sights set on an 11 point lead in the title race, Rangers will be determined to avoid a second successive slip and not to give Alan Stubbs’ side any further encouragement.

When the Gers lost for the first time on Warburton’s watch against St Johnstone in the League Cup in September, they responded in impressive fashion on their next outing as Morton were beaten 4-0 at Cappielow.

Rangers will now look to repeat the trick, to follow up a rare disappointment with an eye-catching performance and, crucially, another three points.

If they can, it will tell Warburton a little bit more about the squad of players he has at his disposal, in terms of their mentality more than their physical attributes.

And former Gers and Hibs defender Craig Paterson expects to see an immediate reaction from the Light Blues as they look to put their Capital blip behind them at the first attempt.

“It is important that they get back on the park and get back doing what they have been doing all season,” he said.

“They have to put it behind them, learn from the defeat and carry on. If they can do that, we could end up at the next Rangers v Hibs game in the same position.

“I don’t see either team dropping too many points so it could well come down to the two remaining games between them. They could be pivotal in terms of who wins the Championship.

“When you have had nothing but success so far this season, one defeat is not going to destroy you. It dents confidence and momentum but they will get back to business at the weekend.

“Mark will be looking for leaders on Saturday and for players to go out and grab the game by the scruff of the neck as they have done so many times this season.

“That is when you will see the importance of the likes of Lee Wallace, charging up and down that left side and leading by example.

“The next game is so important and Rangers can’t show any signs of a hangover after Easter Road.”

Rangers may have headed back to Ibrox with nothing to show for their efforts for the first time this term but they did so still in pole position in the title race.

Amidst their anger and disappointment, there can be satisfaction at what they have done so far and the platform they have given themselves for the remainder of the campaign.

Their lead may not be what they had hoped, but it is still a reason to be optimistic for Warburton and his squad.

Paterson said: “In terms of the race for the Championship, it certainly makes it a lot more interesting.

“A lot of people were saying it was a game Hibs couldn’t afford to lose. If it had gone to 11 points, it would have been very hard for Hibs.

“There is not a team in the Championship that can give Rangers that kind of start. Hibs have been terrific recently and the question now is who kicks on from here.

“If you had offered Mark Warburton this position at the start of the season, he would certainly have taken it.

“Rangers are in a great position with the points on the board and a good lead so Hibs still have to play catch up.”

As Warburton examines and analyses the action from Easter Road and looks at what went wrong and what went right on Sunday, there is one area that will take up most of his time.

His decision to ditch his favoured, and to date successful, 4-3-3 formation for a 3-5-2 line-up was a surprise and a risk. It was a gamble that didn’t pay off for the Gers boss.

Alloa will pose a far different challenge to that of Hibs this weekend and there could well be a return to a more familiar line-up at Ibrox.

Paterson said: “It was a surprise because Rangers, no matter who they were playing or in what competition, haven’t changed their formation.

“The back five has been the same and it has been the front three that has mixed and matched. It was a surprise to see the change but you have to use your best players.

“I thought Dominic Ball played really well at St Mirren the week before and it would have been hard to bring Danny Wilson in for him.

“It was a chance to see how Rangers coped with that formation. Mark must have felt there was something in it that would have paid dividends.

“He would have thought long and hard about making that decision and you can’t blame him for trying it. It will be interesting to see what he does this weekend now.”