A late strike by top scorer Shota Arveladze prevented Rangers from dropping points against a stubborn Motherwell side and falling further behind in a championship race many believe is already over anyway.

Certainly the home side's performance looked every inch an indication that runaway leaders Celtic, who take on Hearts on Sunday, need not lose any sleep.

Rangers' already slim hopes of retaining the title would have faded further had not the Georgian not struck in the 83rd minute to end Well's resistance and it was not the first time they had relied upon the striker to dig themselves out of a hole, with Arveladze having supplied the late goal in Copenhagen that booked a badly-needed place in the Champions League.

That was worth £10million in the bank even if little glory followed on the pitch and Rangers looked nothing like a team that might do well on the Continent next season.

Rangers owner David Murray had spent most of Friday holding his hands up to mistakes that had allowed the club to rack up unprecedented debts but it was the home side's players that were displaying an obvious lack of judgement in the first half.

This was their first Ibrox outing since the 3-0 capitulation at Celtic two weeks before that put them 11 points adrift.

Peter Lovenkrands had been particularly anonymous on that occasion but had been quick to make amends with a goal and an assist in the cup at Hibernian last week.

He was at the heart of everything good the home side mustered before half time but crucially everything before the break also ended up breaking down.

The Dane skinned Paul Quinn down the left on the first of many occasions early on but could not pick out Nuno Capucho in front of goal.

Then he drifted into the middle to send Hamed Namouchi, the 19-year-old making his first start for Rangers, away only to see Well goalkeeper Gordon Marshall parry his hurried effort.

Then Lovenkrands found only Well defender Martyn Corrigan with an attempt to set up Nuno Capucho in the box when a shot would have been the better option and when he tumbled theatrically to the turf seconds later, having reached the penalty area at speed as Keith Lasley challenged, referee Craig Thomson was not even slightly interested in awarding a spot kick.

Other Rangers players were similarly affected with Arveladze wrongly opting for a goal of the season attempt after Capucho had set him up in front of goal. His volley was wastefully high.

Terry Butcher's side gleefully soaked up everything else that came their way and launched plenty of counter-attacks themselves, although a glancing Stephen Craigan header and an inaccurate long-range effort from Alex Burns were the only times Stefan Klos had even to think about making a save.

Rangers' frustration was evident when Craig Moore, who was back in the side following suspension, was booked in the 39th minute for an obvious pull back on David Clarkson, who had just mugged him of possession on the right touchline.

The Australian almost broke the deadlock seconds before the break however when he met a Mikel Arteta corner with a header from six yards out.

But that sailed over the bar and Moore's claims that a defender had pulled him back in the process went unheeded.

Rangers knew they had to up the tempo after the break and some fine control by Namoucho allowed Arteta to gallop forwards and set Arveladze up for a well-aimed low drive that Marshall did well to tip round.

But that turned out to be a false dawn as Well forced three corners at the other end in a demonstration that they were still keen on taking advantage of the Rangers malaise.

Change was clearly needed and on the hour mark Alex McLeish sent on Christian Nerlinger, the experienced but injury-prone German, for Arteta, whose ineffectiveness may have been caused by an early tangle with Well skipper Scott Leitch.

Lovenkrands again did well to get into the box before getting it all wrong with the final ball and the home fans' frustrations were vented when Bob Malcolm blasted well over from the edge of the box.

Malcolm, who had just been handed a contract extension, was immediately replaced by Michael Mols in the 64th minute.

That meant Rangers now had four forwards on the pitch but the flipside of that was there was now no room for defensive slackness and when Henning Berg sold Klos short with an under-hit backpass the German was hurt by Burns' challenge.

Burns was himself hurt seconds later and was replaced in the 74th minute by new signing Scott McDonald.

Rangers were failing to create chances and were resorting instead to hit-and-hope set-pieces. One free kick did bounce kindly in the box off Leitch but Capucho let it bounce off his shins and the chance was gone in an instant.

Arveladze was booked in the 83rd minute for furious dissent but within seconds produced an extremely calm finish to break the deadlock, slotting home from a position on the right of the box after Capucho had set him up with a sensible pass to feet.

Teams

Rangers Klos, Khizanishvili, Berg, Moore, Vanoli, Namouchi (Ross 88), Malcolm (Mols 63), Arteta (Nerlinger 59), Lovenkrands, Capucho, Arveladze.

Subs Not Used: McGregor, Ball.

Booked: Moore, Arveladze.

Goals: Arveladze 82.

Motherwell Marshall, Corrigan, Craigan, Quinn, Hammell, Lasley, Adams, Leitch (Bollan 86), Dair, Clarkson, Burns (Scott McDonald 74).

Subs Not Used: Corr, O'Donnell, Kinniburgh.

Booked: Burns.

Att: 48,925

Ref: C Thomson (Scotland).