Rangers picked up the victory which ensured a maximum six points from the Christmas programme and meant they had lost no further ground on leaders Celtic.

Neil McCann, Fernando Ricksen and substitute Tore Andre Flo were the men on target on the day when West Ham boss Harry Redknapp publicly confirmed he was interested in deposed skipper Lorenzo Amoruso.

Saints threatened occasionally but this was a pale shadow of the contest the same venue had witnessed on Saturday when Hibernian were in town.

But Ricksen will be delighted to be in the headlines for the right reasons for the first time in his short Ibrox career.

It was his first goal for the club and came on the afternoon that began with reports of an arrest for an alleged drink-driving offence to add to a cuttings file that already includes a roasting and early substitution at Celtic, a trial by TV ban for a kick at an Aberdeen player and disrepute charges relating to his website.

This was a match that took a while to lift itself out of the fog that enveloped Ibrox and it took an opposition move to do that.

Saints defender Darren Dods, who had been kept busy at the back, came forward to plant a header from Momo Sylla's corner on to the top of the Rangers' crossbar.

That served as a wake up call to the defending champions, who had found themselves needing to come from behind to defeat Saints at the same venue on the opening day of the season.

Ronald de Boer was denied a second goal in as many games when his overhead kick from a Neil McCann cross from the left, the same source as his Saturday winner against Hibernian, was deflected wide by Gary Bollan.

Claudio Reyna went one better not long after when he forced goalkeeper Alan Main into the save of the afternoon with a fierce drive that had to be tipped away after Stuart McCluskey had headed Arthur Numan's cross away before Michael Mols could nip in.

The Dutch striker was off the pitch by the time McCann opened the scoring, having been replaced a minute before the half hour mark by Kenny Miller.

Reyna was the architect, floating in a cross which appeared to be flicked on by Jim Weir ahead of de Boer, with Weir recovering to go on to make a fruitless lunge to stop McCann controlling and lashing the loose ball past Main.

It was an assured finish by a winger whose final ball is often something of a lottery.

The rest of the first half saw Saints, who had not won at Ibrox since 1971, defending stoutly with Weir and Dods particularly busy.

Weir had to dive in to stop de Boer going through but when the resulting corner came in he could only help it across goal to where Amoruso was poised for a header that the Italian planted wide.

Fellow defender Bert Konterman did the same at the near post from another de Boer corner to ensure the first half ended relatively well poised.

It was another defender who made sure Rangers collected maximum points from the festive period with his first goal for the club.

Ricksen it was who popped up unmarked at the far post after McCann's cross had been flicked on by Miller.

The full back wasted no time in slamming the ball past Main as if goalscoring happened to him every week.

That was that as far as a meaningful contest was concerned although Stefan Klos was called upon to divert a Sylla free kick over his crossbar.

Miller passed up two chances to make it three when he headed a cross from McCann's replacement Allan Johnston on to an upright and then blasted the rebound high into the stands.

Perhaps the home fans sensed they were seeing the last of Amoruso as they cheered his name after he had twice come bustling forward.

The first occasion saw him sandwiched by Dods and Bollan in the box and on the second the Italian was fouled outside it but he gained a single free kick for his efforts, which he was not allowed to take himself.

He was, however, named man of the match for the second game in a row.

Johnston almost made it three with a floated effort that drifted just wide but then he did make a difference with a run and cross over Main that was nodded in by Flo, who had come on for de Boer in the 66th minute.

Flo had missed the previous three matches with a hamstring strain but had little difficulty despatching such a simple chance.

Rangers: Klos, Ricksen, Konterman, Amoruso, Numan, Reyna, Ferguson, Tugay, McCann (Johnston 72), de Boer (Flo 66), Mols (Miller 28).

Subs Not Used: Christensen, Ross.

Goals: McCann 32, Ricksen 54, Flo 87.

St Johnstone: Main, Sylla, Dods, McCluskey (McCulloch 58), Weir, Bollan, McBride, Kane (Dasovic 46), O'Neill., Lovenkrands, Parker.

Subs Not Used: Cuthbert, Connolly, Forsyth.

Booked: Weir.

Att: 48,150

Ref: M McCurry (Scotland).