At Tannadice yesterday Rangers lost their first league encounter in 521 days as their 40-match unbeaten league run was brought to an end by a hard-working Dundee United side.

A shock to the system? Most definitely, but despite back-to-back defeats, it's important not to get carried away.

The old saying, 'Rangers are only two defeats away from a catastrophe' is often uttered, however in this case it couldn't be further from the truth.

Let's take Tuesday night's defeat to Malmo first; Rangers were below par, no question. However, they were up against the Swedish champions on their own patch without several first-team players.

Steven Davis' goal deep into stoppage time could prove to be invaluable, we'll discover its true importance on Tuesday night at a packed-out Ibrox.

Yesterday in Tayside, Rangers, collectively, had a bad day at the office.  

It happens. It's unrealistic and unfair to expect Steven Gerrard's men to go through another league campaign without slipping up.

Some of the reasons for the recent slump in form appear misdirected though. The return of fans has been mooted as a possible explanation.

The facts tell you, of the last seven games Rangers have played in front of supporters, they’ve only won twice, with defeats in the other five to Hearts, Hamilton, Bayer Leverkusen, Malmo and Dundee United.

But it seems far-fetched to think professional footballers and recently crowned invincible champions are too spooked to perform in front of an audience.

Should the result go against them on Tuesday however, it may become an issue.

What is more likely though is that injuries, suspensions and Covid related issues have deprived Gerrard of a full-strength squad to choose from of late.

The latter is interesting, last season Rangers were fortunate not to be decimated at any point. Filip Helander was out for a period last November while Nathan Patterson, Jordan Jones, George Edmundson and Bongani Zungu fell foul of breaking coronavirus protocol.

It appears it has had an effect on the squad in recent weeks, however.

READ MORE: Detailed player ratings from Tannadice

John Lundstram told Sky Sports News after Rangers defeat to Dundee United:

"I think there's a lot more to come from all of us.

"It's only early doors, we had pre-season not long ago and it hasn't been a great one for everyone.

"There have been a few Covid cases, so I'm sure once we are up to speed you'll see a different team."

It's something backed up by Rangers TV commentator Clive Tyldesley, who suggested two players missed pre-season friendlies against Brighton and Real Madrid due to the virus.

It clearly shows there has been a disrupted pre-season which appears to be affecting recent performances.

Speaking of Lundstram, he’s come under fire for his displays against Malmo and the Arabs with many unhappy at his failure to track runners.

It’s not uncommon for the Ibrox faithful to get on a new players’ back not long after they’ve walked in the door.

The likes of Mark Hateley, Ally McCoist and more recently Borna Barisic struggled initially before finding their feet. Lundstram clearly needs games to get acclimatised to the way this Rangers team operate and before truly getting to grips with the anomaly that is Scottish football.

He’s used to being part of a Sheffield United side who liked to contain and hit on the break.  It will take time to adjust both physically and mentally to a completely different way of playing.

He’ll come good, he’s too good a player not to.

There have also been concerns raised about the options available in the forward areas.

Hopes were raised on Saturday when Alfredo Morelos was named in the starting XI despite undertaking just two training sessions since returning from the Copa America and emerging from his quarantine period.

The Colombian hasn’t featured at all during the pre-season campaign and it showed at times at Tannadice as he looked rusty, albeit the service to him wasn’t anywhere near good enough.

Rangers Review: Alfredo Morelos misses a chance against Dundee UnitedAlfredo Morelos misses a chance against Dundee United

He’ll start against Malmo on Tuesday night and the Rangers supporters will be hoping he puts in the type of performance that highlights just why he is the club’s record European goalscorer.

All things considered, had Kemar Roofe not had to attend a family matter it is likely he would’ve started in the front three with Morelos perhaps on the bench.

Fashion Sakala was also missing from the matchday squad and it remains to be seen why that was the case - but he is another you’d imagine would feature at some point on Tuesday.

The loss of Ianis Hagi through injury has also affected Rangers in the last two games.  His invention to create against the tightest of defences is certainly something the Light Blues have been crying out for.

He faces a race against time to be fit to feature against Malmo but don’t be surprised if he starts because, like Morelos, he is the sort of player who thrives on European nights and given Malmo are likely to sit deep and contain, he could hold the key to unlock the Swedes.

READ MORE: Steven Gerrard in 'home truths' message after defeat to Dundee United

All in all, should Rangers win and progress to the Champions League Playoff round the stumble at Tannadice will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

It’s all about qualification to the greatest footballing competition on the planet, every Rangers supporter understands the magnitude of this.

Domestically, Hearts are the early pacesetters and as much as Robbie Neilson’s men have won two from two, they and the ten other clubs in the Premiership are unlikely to pose a realistic challenge to Rangers this season.

That is the case as long as they concentrate on getting back to winning ways as quickly as possible and don’t allow complacency to set in.

The words of James Tavernier to Rangers TV following the game at Tannadice would lead you to suggest this is just a bump in the road.

He said: "It is one of these games that we need to put to the back of our minds as quickly as possible and use that feeling now in the changing room and not want to feel like that again.

"Just got to be more clinical and more precise when we come into the final third. It was a game that we didn't deserve to win, but we didn't deserve to lose.

"We move on. We fully focus on Tuesday now.

READ MORE: Individual off-days and a lack of variety: Why Rangers lost their winning streak

"Especially after a result like this, you always want a game as quickly as possible so we have got to use this now and channel it in the right way and come firing out at the first whistle on Tuesday.

"It is a massive game for the boys, the club and the fans so we need to be really at it from the get go."

The skipper is spot on with regards to Tuesday - failure to beat Malmo and questions will start to be asked about mentality.

That's almost crazy given the previous campaign but as Steven Gerrard said himself: “We are well aware the language of 55 has to stop now and we need to move very swiftly onto 56 to try and achieve that, and we have to work even harder to achieve that as the challenges are going to come from different teams all over the league.”

This Rangers side need to come to terms with their lofty status as the team to be shot at now - a failure to graft to the levels required and they'll come a cropper as was shown at Tannadice.

But let's not get our knickers in a twist quite yet.

Gerrard and this group of players have earned the right to be trusted to put it right starting on a titanic midweek night under the Ibrox lights.