Rangers match against Swindon has been an eagerly anticipated one in recent years. We've won the last six meeting between the two clubs and confidence was high that we would make it seven straight wins this afternoon.

Rangers were dealt a blow though with Terrell Forbes missing out which meant a change around in the teams line up. Clarke Carlisle came in at right back whilst Leroy Griffiths was left out with Lee Cook coming back after his injury and suspension.

Rangers looked shaky from the start with Carlisle making Palmer look like an Olympic sprinter. Carlisle looked so slow it was frightening and Swindon soon worked out his weakness and got at him at every opportunity.

Marcus Bean was offering very little protection to him on the right but in fairness to him he didn't see to have any idea where he was supposed to be playing. He spent most of the opening period in the middle with Carlisle left getting slaughtered.

Holloway made the chance quickly to stop this problem. Carlisle went into a back three with Padula and Bean playing as wing backs and Cook went into central midfield. It worked well as we settled down and got ourselves into the game.

A corner was won on the right but Langley's delivery was a poor one as we won another corner.

Holloway screamed out to Padula to take the next one and he moved Langley off the ball to take over.

Padula curled in an excellent cross and Danny Shittu was on hand to head past the keeper and give us the lead. Tactical Masterstroke by the manager to have Padula take the corner? Or just blind luck? Who cares we were 1-0 up and everything seemed right with the world.

We still looked very dodgy at the back though and it was only a matter of time before the offside trap was broken.

We could have gone 2-0 up though with a few more corners before disaster struck. A long ball over the top saw hesitant defending and allowed Robinson to nip in and shoot past Culkin. It was no more than they deserved and appeals for offside fell on death ears.

Rangers were lucky to stay level soon afterwards as the long ball cut us apart again this time the shot went wide but we were looking easy to breakdown at this stage.

Several corners were close to bringing them a second but we defended them all quite well and began to have some more chances of our own.

At last we got Langley on the ball and he looked good for a while. He a free kick outside the box and his curling effort was inches over the bar.

A foul on Furlong brought another chance from the same position but the result was the same as Langley curled it just over the bar again.

Kevin Gallen went close with a curling shot before the best chance of the game so far. A good passing move saw Gallen put Furlong through and he was one on one with the keeper. A goal seemed inevitable but he waited to long and tried to go round the keeper and the chance went begging. He really should have scored and it proved to be a key moment for us.

We looked like we would go on and win the game in the second half but for some reason it all fell apart after the break. Swindon came out with more desire than us and we simply fell apart.

The midfield was pushed further and further back as they came forward and we just couldn't get the ball up to Gallen and Furlong. The goal when it came was superb. Sam Parkin turned Palmer inside out and buried his shot past Culkin. Some will blame Palmer for this but it was a great piece of play by Parkin.

What did annoy me though was the lack of cover for Palmer, when he was beaten Parkin had a clear run on goal and with two other central defenders on the pitch you had to wonder what they were doing. Still perhaps this would provide the kick up the arse we seemed to need. It didn't.

We continued to look a complete mess and a third was inevitable. It came from a corner and Heywood was unmarked five yards out from goal and had the simple task of a heading past Culkin. It was shocking defending by players who are much better than this.

Holloway made some changes taking off Padula and Cook for Williams and Pacquette. We went 3-4-3 and the change inspired a good five minute spell. Williams did well on the left beating his man and whipping a dangerous cross in which flashed just in front of Pacquette and Gallen but neither player could get a touch on it.

At last we looked dangerous but it didn't take long for Williams crossing to go back to normal and the good spell ended. It could have been worse. Bean cleared one off the line and poor finishing by Swindon kept the score down.

Furlong went off near the end to give Angell a run out but as you can imagine it changed very little. Just before the end Gallen had a good chance to score but his shot was to weak and was cleared by the last defender with the keeper having a mad minute.

So a 3-1 defeat and thoroughly deserved to. It was a dire performance by Rangers and Ian Holloway has a huge job on to turn things around quickly and get the best out of the players he has.

Man of the Match: Steve Palmer

Players Ratings

13. Nick Culkin: Did a David James from crosses and punched everything, which never really works. Not much chance with the goals though. 6/10

5. Clarke Carlisle: It's games like this where you se how much his injury has taken it's toll n him. He's lost so much pace and thankfully he wasn't at right back for long. 5/10

3. Gino Padula: Good in the first half but after the break struggled at times probably due to not training much all week after getting injured against Mansfield. 6/10

4. Steve Palmer: I've given him man of the match but it was almost impossible to pick one today, Palmer was the best of a very bad bunch. Palmer worked hard and defended well at times and kept going until the end. I thought some of the stick he got from the crowd was out of order but fans have made their mind up about Palmer before a ball is kicked and anything I say won't change people's minds now. 7/10

6. Danny Shittu: Good to see him score again and he had a decent game at the back. Made a few mistakes which could have cost us more goals but he wasn't alone. 6/10

8. Marc Bircham: Worked hard got stuck in but didn't do enough in the second half and was a big disappointment again. 6.10

9. Richard Langley: Looked good in the first half passing the ball around nicely but disappeared after the break and was very disappointing. 6/10

15. Lee Cook: Showed some nice skills at times and got a few crosses in but didn't have much of an impact. 6/10

22. Marcus Bean: He's not a winger or a wing back and hopefully he'll either be put in the middle next week or put back in the reserves as this can't be helping him. 6/10

29. Paul Furlong: Should have scored before half time but led the line well and had very little service after half time. 7/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Did what he always does holding the ball up and passing the ball well but like Furlong he didn't see enough of the ball. 6/10

Subs

24. Richard Pacquette: Didn't do much really but like his other forwards he got sod all of the ball. 6/10

31. Brett Angell: Not on for long. 6/10

33. Tommy Williams: Started brightly then faded. 6/10