LEADING THE FIELD

Red-hot Gers refuse to be bogged down by dodgy surface and title race pressure as they make best pitch yet to be champs-elect

PHILIPPE CLEMENT hasn't exactly been impressed by the state of the Premiership's problem pitches.

But the Rangers boss can have no complaints with the way his team are refusing to be bogged down by the title pressure.

From seven points behind on the day he arrived, four months later they are two in front.

Clement has been the man responsible for carefully tending to the Light Blues' green shoots of recovery and with 12 games to go, they're now coming into full bloom.

Trips to Perth have long posed the potential for nasty slip-ups to this side.

There was no danger of that, though, as soon as Mohamed Diomande marked his first league start with a screamer to put Rangers ahead at the break.

Two VAR-sanctioned spotkicks late on saw skipper James Tavernier move to 120 goals for the Ibrox club.

It's a year since Clement's predecessor Michael Beale branded the muddy McDiarmid surface a "cow field".

There wasn't much more grass on it but that didn't stop Rangers mowing down the home side as they made it nine straight wins since their Old Firm defeat.

Clement says it's down to clubs to get their pitches sorted given they're meant to be in the "entertainment" business.

There wasn't much to enthuse the punters in a dire opening 45 minutes but by the end it was the away side in party mood.

With just three goals from 42 attempts on Ross County's goal on Wednesday night, Clement was hoping for a more clinical touch as he rolled out an entirely new frontline.

Fabio Silva, Oscar Cortes and Scott Wright came in alongside Borna Barisic and Diomande.

Craig Levein had Dan Phillips back, with Connor Smith and Ryan McGowan also recalled after last week's loss at Dundee.