IT'S not necessarily the end of the road for Rangers.
It's entirely possible that they might still gather themselves and make something meaningful of the run-in to the line.
But, even so, it did feel like quite a moment in this two-horse race and one almighty capitulation in the Highlands yesterday as Philippe Clement's players turned in a woeful apology of a performance and got exactly what they deserved as a consequence.
Weak of will and devoid of character or purpose, they somehow went in at half-time holding a one-goal lead courtesy of an own goal bundled into the back of his own net by Ross County's Jack Baldwin.
If that felt like a travesty for the home side, they most certainly didn't dwell on it.
Rather, the team sitting second bottom of the table, responded by running all over the top of Rangers, winning every loose ball and helping themselves to three goals in the process as Clement's players allowed their bottle to crash in truly spectacular fashion.
Yes, captain James Tavernier pulled one back from the spot late in the day, but that was about his only positive contribution over the course of 98 error-strewn minutes. And even when it hit the back of the net, Tavernier didn't look even remotely like a man who truly believed he was about to dig his team out of a hole.
On the contrary, his body language was as unconvincing as his overall performance and it is starting to feel as if Tavernier's attention might be drifting someplace else just when his team needs him to be fully focused and leading from the front.
Rumours linking the 32-year-old Englishman with a big-money move to the Middle East have never fully gone away since surfacing last summer.
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