“At 1-0, I’ve seen it so many times. We’ve played the movie so many times. If you don’t defend well, you leave yourself vulnerable.”

A 1-1 draw against Motherwell should have, in the eyes of Steven Gerrard, been a “straightforward home win,” on the basis of play.

But it instead provoked more concern about the lethargic elements that have crept into last season's relentless standards. 

The good work done and optimism bought by half-time was all forgotten by the final whistle, overtaken by the narrative of the season so far.

The wait for a complete performance goes on and given results at the Toni Macaroni, the opportunity to start setting the tone of the chase missed.

Miring the post-game dissatisfaction further was the loss of a chance to change the pace of the season. This was flag day after all, for the first time in a decade supporters were able to watch the Scottish Premiership flag hoisted into the Ibrox sky.

And, there were plenty of positives to discuss by half-time.

The front three of Kemar Roofe, Fashion Sakala and Scott Wright brought a renewed energy and aggression with and without the ball. Sakala and Wright created gaps for Roofe to play in by stretching play off the back of the defence, while Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara played with confidence behind them.

Sakala has had it tough since debuting against Real Madrid in pre-season. Injuries have delayed what felt to be an inevitable impact on the night of his goal against Los Blancos. His second start of the season showed how threatening his direct style can be, Motherwell’s higher than the average away backline at Ibrox helped his cause.

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More generally, Rangers upset and unsettled that defence. There was a welcome lack of play in front and around the opposition and the attackers exemplified why a narrow front three, when interchanging, overloading and exploiting, can be so effective.

Gerrard labelled some of the approach play "outstanding" - but too often the finish from Rangers did not match the quality of the play that took them to that area.

From back to front the ball was moved and pressure retained with a pace and intentionality that has been absent for much of this season. Gerrard sprinting out of his technical area to retrieve and return a ball was emblematic of the eventual outcome - Rangers needed to strike again while on top.

“Box to box we played some outstanding stuff, we got there on numerous occasions but our last pass our final cross and us taking out chances just wasn’t there today,” he added.

For all the territorial advantages, neat interplay and nearly moments, his team remained just a goal ahead. Too many moments promised much but turned no profit. When Roofe missed an excellent near-post shot soon after the restart, the feeling that these missed chances could prove costly became that little bit more palpable.

“We’ve had these lessons before, that’s the concern. We have to take ownership of it,” Gerrard added. “We’ve got ourselves to blame.”

The home side’s defensive fragility threatened to be exposed soon before the opener when Tony Watt got the better of Jack Simpson and was only stopped by Allan McGregor’s reactions and Connor Goldson bailing out his defensive partner.

When space opened on 66 minutes, Kevin Van Veen picked out the onrushing Mark O’Hara, Goldson managed to stop his path to goal but in doing so the ball fell to goalscorer Kaiyne Woolery.

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That was the visiting side’s first shot on target.

This wasn’t a game in which Rangers failed to create or even one in which Motherwell held on. Wastefulness was the root of the problem instead of staleness in possession. Rangers dropped two points almost all by themselves.

After the goal, the pace of the attack, so present in the opening half, was no longer on show. Crosses from deep, sadly, became the fashion once more and a winning goal never seemed likely.

The movie Gerrard alludes to cannot repeat itself often in a title-winning season - Rangers have to recapture their relentless self.