“ALTHOUGH there was enough here to suggest Life After Barry won’t be plain-sailing for Rangers they succeeded in their aim to keep the pressure on leaders Celtic,and briefly saw the focus switch back to football after a remarkable few days. Kris Boyd scored his 25th goal of the season and helped keep Rangers on track prior to a midweek fixture at St Mirren, with Celtic also in action on the same night against a Falkirk side who appear far from dispirited by their present position at the bottom of the Scottish Premier League. The Ibrox side were simply relieved to leave with three points after an international interlude which impacted on Rangers in a way that remains hard to credit. Sub-plots were apparent everywhere. Steven Pressley resumed playing duties in the centre of defence for Falkirk, and met with the expected response from Rangers fans each time he touched the ball.Lee McCulloch benefited from his friend Barry Ferguson’s exclusion, and stepped into a central midfield role until retiring hurt in the second-half, while Neil Alexander took over goalkeeping duties from Allan McGregor. As much credit for the clean sheet recorded by Rangers should go to new skipper David Weir, who was immense in the middle of defence as Falkirk took the game to Rangers in the second-half. The Rangers fans’ ambivalence towards the loss of Ferguson the footballer was not matched by the enthusiasm with which they railed on his behalf against those judged to have mistreated the midfielder. The accused list was a lengthy one, and included the Tartan Army, George Burley and also Pressley, said to have been abused by both Ferguson and Allan McGregor after he ordered the drunken pair to their beds when on Scotland duty eight days ago. The Rangers fans kicked off with a ditty encouraging the Tartan Army to stick themselves where the sun don’t shine, while the national anthem was also given a rendering. Included on the Falkirk Tannoy announcer’s play-list at half-time were heavily charged Tartan Army favourites Caledonia and I’m Gonna Be (500 miles). And was the choice of Simple Minds’ Don’t You Forget About Me at the end another salute to events of last week? There is little chance of the issue being allowed to rest for some time yet, but Rangers did just enough to seal a vital win against a backdrop rife with other agendas. It all got slightly mystifying at times. Walter Smith escaped censure, despite his own banishing of Ferguson. Few Rangers fans have come out in support of the deposed skipper, whose behaviour most agree had let the club down. But this did not stop Burley and the SFA being pilloried. And, with the anti-Scotland feeling at its most intense at the start of the second-half, Christian Dailly – for so long a totemic figure for the Tartan Army – arrived at the Rangers’ fans’ end to warm-up. While his applause could not be interpreted as support for their views, it made for a curious scene. It was impossible not to wonder at Ferguson’s own circumstances as the teams emerged, with Weir installed as captain. Seven days earlier, having tottered finally to bed, Ferguson could still consider himself to be captain of both club and country. It was just a matter of time, and further bad choices on his part, until this all unravelled. When he should have been in Falkirk leading his side in a title charge he had replaced one form of heat for another by escaping to Dubai. It was the second time in just over two years that he had been forced to endure such an unsettling experience as knowing that a ban imposed by his own club meant Rangers were forced to play on without him. On the last occasion, against Motherwell, he wrote in his autobiography about being unable to watch on television, though friends kept him in touch via texts. It wasn’t long before his phone will have beeped yesterday with news of a Rangers goal, one scored, as against Motherwell in early 2007, by Boyd. This time, however, there was no pointed gesture from the striker in support of Ferguson. Boyd struck in just nine minutes after good work on the left from Nacho Novo, who had taken the ball to the bye-line and then cut it back for his striker partner. Boyd could barely miss from the edge of the six yard box.It hadn’t taken much to breach Falkirk, and Rangers should have added to their lead before half-time. Novo and Boyd got in each other’s way with the former about to shoot for goal, while Jackie McNamara and Thomas Scobbie both made important last-ditch challenges in the box to deny Rangers. Although Falkirk themselves rarely looked like scoring such defensive interventions kept the home side in the game at the start of the second-half, when they began asking more difficult questions of the Rangers defence. This drew applause from the home fans, who had grown agitated due to John Hughes’ insistence on playing with just one up front. The substitution of Patrick Cregg for Michael Higdon saw this approach change. Falkirk might already have been level by this time. Burton O’Brien failed to keep his effort down after a good cross from the right and then Kevin Christie saw his attempt also clear the bar. Whether or not Ferguson was missed by Rangers is debatable. His performances of late have not been of a high enough standard, but he was always a useful outlet. McCulloch’s limitations meant he could not hope to mirror Ferguson’s range of passing, while Steven Davies had a quiet afternoon wide on the right. Falkirk were a much more positive outfit after the interval, and perhaps deserved a point for their efforts. However, they lacked the pace to truly hurt Rangers, although the visitors survived what looked like a solid claim for a Falkirk penalty after 82 minutes when Steven Whittaker barged into the back of Higdon when the pair were contesting a cross. “Aye, I felt it might have been a penalty,” said Hughes afterwards. “Sometimes these things just don’t go for you.” (“The Scotsman”)