IF Rangers are to improve on last season then they must get a lot more street-wise than this.

They fell for everything Hibernian tried on Saturday, by fairs means or foul, and paid a heavy price. You need to be fly to well in Scottish football

Now before we go on, Ryan Jack should never have been sent off by referee John Beaton. It was a yellow at most. Hibs’ Dylan McGouch should have walked for two bookings, while Anthony Stokes was hugely fortunate to stay on the pitch.

That being said, there are ways to come to a team-mate’s defence when it all kicks off without giving the referee something to think about. And a good team should be able to cope with being a man down far better than Pedro Caixinha’s did.

And if a pub side conceded a goal from a throw-in to a player on the edge of the box, which is how Hibs’s new man Vykintas Slivka made it 3-1, there would be harsh words said in the dressing room.

Oh, and no Rangers manager, or assistant for that matter, ought to allow themselves to get wound up by what the other lot are doing along the touchline. Neil Lennon got to them and if Caixinha and his assistant Helder Baptista did lose their focus with the Hibernian manager’s gesture, then they are in the wrong city.

The Portuguese is an intelligent and likeable man. His English is good but not perfect so it is only right to forgive him if he doesn’t get his message over as clear as he would like.

However, if Caixinha does believe he is treated differently from other managers then he’s wrong. Although it was hard not to feel for him on Saturday evening.

In his defence, not a single thing went right for Rangers. Beaton got a number of decisions wrong, Jack’s dismissal being key because it did change the game, but too many wearing blue seemed unable to work out how to go about seeing out the first-half and later finding an equaliser.

James Tavernier’s late goal made the last ten minutes far more interesting than it might have been but in truth the 3-2 scoreline flattered them.

Just like at Fir Park last week, Rangers were impressive going forward and poor at the back.

Every goal is avoidable, even the very best, but all three from Hibs should have been prevented. Tackles were not made, players not picked up, runs not matched and there is nothing wrong with a cheeky foul every so often.

Rangers do make it easy for teams to get at and past them on the wings and through the middle. Motherwell did it and should have scored a second goal, and Hibs carved them open before and after Jack went off without a huge amount of difficulty.

All I’m saying is that had Ian Ferguson been in that team. John McGinn would have been stopped turning his man in midfield long before the 20th time he got away with it.

And Murray, who scored his tenth goal of the season, might not have been able to sashay his way into the box and John Brown been on duty.

Caixinha has some footballers there. That is plain to see. It is taking time for them to gel, which is completely understandable, but they still need to do the rudimentary stuff.

“There’s no doubt the new players are adapting, it won’t just happen straight away,” said the Ibrox defender Danny Wilson. “The quicker it happens the better but there’s no doubt they will do it.

“We need to become a team, we are still in the early phases of it. We’ve had a couple of good results and everyone is thinking that’s it, we’re ready to crack on, but we know ourselves we need to work, the work needs to be done and I’m sure we’ll look to put that right in training next week.

“This is just one defeat and hopefully we can nip in the bud now and we won’t have too many more.”

As for Leith’s finest, all you can is that so far they have been hugely impressive.

Lennon is an excellent man-manager, knows Scottish football and his personality, which is pretty big, is something you can see throughout the team.

They are a cocky bunch but can back it up. McGinn was outstanding, as always, Slivka looks a player, Steven Whittaker, booed even more than Lennon, coasted this one, while Murray and Stokes will be a great watch.

How often have you seen the team with eleven not be able to take advantage of a red card? There were passes of play in the second-half when it felt as if Rangers were down to nine.

Lennon loved it on Saturday but those who get hot under the colour about what he gets up to need to calm down. The guy gets all sorts said to him and those who do it want a reaction, There is no need pretending to be upset.