St Mirren boss Gus MacPherson praised the character of his players for their second half performance as they narrowly failed to pull back a two goal deficit in the 2-1 defeat at Rangers. "The start of the game destroyed us and Rangers were at us right from the start of the game," he said.

"They scored from their first attack and it was always going to be a difficult afternoon. It was just a case of hanging in there and giving ourselves an opportunity to get back into the game.

"We rode our luck but I have to give credit to the players for passing the ball well in the last 20 or 30 minutes. They showed a lot of character to get on the ball and pass it."

Next up for Saints is Celtic and MacPherson questioned why so many teams are facing the Old Firm in back-to-back matches this season.

"I think we need an explanation as to how these fixtures came around because there is no logic to them," he said.

"It's strange to say the least why so many clubs are getting the Old Firm back to back. There is obviously a reason for it - I don't expect it to just be random."