RANGERS got back to winning ways with a comfortable 2-0 victory over struggling Aberdeen.
With his squad stretched to the limit by injuries Walter Smith named only six substitutes as Sasa Papac, Mo Edu and Kyle Lafferty joined the ranks of injured stars at Murray Park.
That meant a first start of the season for John Fleck as the 19-year-old continues his own return from the sidelines.
The shape changed to a 4-1-4-1 formation with Kenny Miller in the lone striking role and Fleck and Steven Naismith supporting him from behind.
And it was Miller grabbed the first goal of the game to ease any tension in Ibrox before Vladimir Weiss notched his second goal for the club to put his side in control.
While Rangers have struggled to start games quickly enough in recent outings there was no such issue against the Dons.
The majority of the first period was spent in the visitors’ half and as early as the seventh minute it was Whittaker on the right flank that looked to open things up.
His delivery from the flank was a little too close to Langfield but it signalled the start of a period of sustained pressure for the Light Blues.
McCulloch was next to come close as he met a lovely cross from Davis but his header was clawed away by Langfield.
Aberdeen made a rare break from the resulting clearance and Naismith was booked for halting Chris Maguire as he made his way down the Dons left.
It was a harsh booking for the Scotland man who had shown great energy to make sure he was the first man back to defend.
That was a mere blip in the home side’s constant probing with Whittaker and McCulloch both attempting shots from around the edge of the area.
And Miller couldn’t quite believe how he missed from six yards in the 18th minute, scooping the ball wide when it seemed easier to work Langfield.
However he gave the Dons’ keeper no chance three minutes later when he met Weiss’s delivery from the left with a wonderful glancing header.
It looped to the far post and nestled in the net to give the home side the breakthrough they undoubtedly deserved.
Keen to build on their positive opening Rangers continued to probe for a second and when it came it was all about power.
Miller made room on the left and cut back from the byline looking for Fleck. The youngster was crowded out, but the ball fell to Weiss.
And the Slovakian winger made no mistake as he drilled through a crowd of defenders to find the same corner Miller had netted in just ten minutes earlier.
Having scored on 21 and 31 the Gers could have added a third on 41 when Whittaker was upended in the box by Zander Diamond.
Miller claimed the ball as he looked for his 16th goal of the season for the Light Blues but Langfield dived full length to his left to palm away the No.9’s attempt.
With the score remaining at 2-0 at the interval it became clear that the next goal would be crucial.
Both teams were eager to get it in the early stages of the second period, but neither troubled the opposing goalkeeper in the opening exchanges.
Bougherra and McCulloch joined Naismith in the referee’s book, though again both decisions looked harsh.
The Algerian appeared to win the ball on the touchline from Maguire but the Aberdeen forward went down in a heap and earned the defender a card.
McCulloch then seemed to win another great challenge in front of the back four only to see the referee penalise and caution him.
Between those two incidents Miller had sent a shot narrowly wide of the upright having been fed in by Fleck after a superb first touch from the young No.10.
Fleck then looked to add to the home side’s tally with a low drive just wide of the post after 65 minutes.
But it was Miller who came closest to ensuring a relaxed end to the game for Walter Smith’s men with 23 minutes remaining.
He collected a long ball under close attention from Jerel Ifil. He wriggled one way and then another to force some space and just as it looked like he would find the bottom corner Langfield again denied him with a fine low stop.
Rangers had their tails up and when Whittaker won the ball near the corner flag he picked out Naismith whose first time effort flashed just past Langfield’s goal.
Aberdeen had still to work Allan McGregor and with the points seemingly assured Weiss made way for Gregg Wylde with 16 minutes left.
The youngster almost made an immediate impact when he flashed a left foot drive just over the top of the bar from the edge of the box.
However the game was to peter out from that point with the Dons seemingly resigned to defeat and the home side restricted to some long range efforts.