Rangers failed to deliver once again when they were forced to scrap for a draw against St Mirren in the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

Saints took the lead early on through Richard Brittain, before returning goal hero Kris Boyd earned a share of the points.

It was another dismal display from the ailing Glasgow giants and the Ibrox faithful will no doubt be looking for a major improvement in the new year.

The pressure was back on Rangers following their midweek 2-1 defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Manager Paul Le Guen made just one change following the disastrous display in the Highlands, with fit-again Boyd replacing the ineffective Filip Sebo.

Le Guen had admitted some of his players lacked motivation against lesser opposition in the SPL. And, unfortunately for him, Saints fit right into that category.

The Paisley club are battling to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle and their 1-0 victory over Falkirk last week ended arun of 11 games without a win.

They were boosted by the return of first-choice goalkeeper Tony Bullock, who was back after recovering from a virus.

But it was Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor who was called into action first to block a Mark Corcoran effort, before Simon Lappin fired just over.

The warning signs were there and Saints made the most of their early pressure to take the lead after just 13 minutes.

A Corcoran cut-back found Brittain on the edge of the box and he had the net bulging with a thunderous effort which left McGregor with no chance.

However, the home fans were celebrating when Rangers clawed themselves back to level terms just five minutes later.

A Charlie Adam corner was met by Boyd in front of goal and he rose above everyone else in the box to bullet home the header from six yards.

The striker then had a great chance to grab his second goal of the day - only for his point-blank effort to come off the legs of Bullock.

The woodwork denied Rangers shortly before the break when Adam's free-kick crashed off the crossbar.

There was a controversial start to the second half when Nacho Novo went to ground under pressure from Kirk Broadfoot but referee Eddie Smith ignored the penalty pleas.

St Mirren then almost reclaimed their lead when Corcoran was allowed to embark on a surging run from the middle of the park which took him all the way into the box.

But he let himself down at the last moment by firing inches wide of the post and squandering a great opportunity.

At the other end of the park, Novo missed a decent chance to put Rangers ahead when his effort was also off target.

Rangers made their first change after an hour when Chris Burke - back from a shoulder injury - replaced Adam.

The Ibrox side huffed and puffed but failed to cause any major problems for their visitors in front of goal.

They pushed forward in the final minutes in the desperate hope they could still snatch the three points.

But the offside flag was already raised before an off-target effort had even left the boot of Barry Ferguson.

In the end, Saints held on for a well-deserved point as the crisis deepened at Rangers.

Teams:

Rangers McGregor, Hutton, Hemdani, Svensson, Papac, Sionko,Ferguson, Clement, Adam (Burke 59), Novo, Kris Boyd.

Subs Not Used: Klos, Rae, Murray, Sebo, Stanger, Lennon.

Booked: Novo.

Goals: Kris Boyd 19.

St Mirren Bullock, van Zanten, Millen, Broadfoot, Reid,Murray (McKenna 46), Brittain, Brady, Maxwell, Lappin,Corcoran (Gemmill 90).

Subs Not Used: Smith, Potter, Sutton, McCay, McGinn.

Booked: Brittain.

Goals: Brittain 14.

Att: 50,273

Ref: E Smith (Scotland).