New signing Kevin Thomson made his first appearance for Rangers as they beat Airdrie 3-0 in a friendly.

The former Hibernian midfielder, who joined Rangers last night in a deal thought to be worth £2million, was afforded a 25-minute run-out in the second half at the Excelsior Stadium.

There was also an appearance off the bench for Belgian playmaker Thomas Buffel, whose planned move to Hannover collapsed over personal terms.

David Weir's header put Rangers in front after 21 minutes, and Chris Burke smashed home a second goal before the break.

Striker Filip Sebo struck the third goal with eight minutes left as the visitors won handsomely.

Rangers were without manager Walter Smith, and it was not known whether he was attempting to make a last-ditch signing before the transfer window closure at midnight.

Rangers have no fixture this weekend, due to their elimination by Dunfermline in the Tennent's Scottish Cup third round.

And first-team coach Kenny McDowall, who joined Rangers three weeks ago along with manager Smith, claims it was important to get a match in.

He told www.rangers.co.uk: "It was a good run-out for the boys. We just felt that with no game at the weekend that it would be beneficial to keep them ticking over.

"It was good to keep their confidence up and pleasing to keep another clean sheet as well.

"The Airdrie boys did well too and gave us a good test. It was great to see Filip scoring and he clearly enjoyed it. That will have helped boost his confidence too.

"We gave Kevin a run-out in the second half and it was an ideal chance just to bed him in and let him get to know some of his new team-mates."