Holloway was forced into a change at the break though. Andrew Davies had a slight calf strain so went off, as a precaution with Matthew Rose making is first appearance since limping off at Leeds in November.

Rangers were on top at the start of the second half without really looking at our best. Lee Cook was our main danger man and he went close to his second of the game. A swerving shot from out wide the box deceived Simonson in the Stoke goal as he fumbled it Roy Carroll style over his head but recovered well to avoid any real embarrassment.

Gino Padula fired over from long range as we looked for a second before Lee Cook caused problems again with a good run and cross but Cureton couldn’t get on the end of it.

Rangers were looking very comfortable as Stoke continued with only one up front and it was difficult to believe that Rangers could throw this away.

Gareth Ainsworth could and should have put the result beyond any doubt on the hour mark. He beat the offside trap to burst through on the right into the box but he fired his shot wide when he perhaps should have scored.

Rangers began to sit back and look to protect the one goal lead, which always leads to problems when we do this but Stoke didn’t look capable of taking advantage of their possession.

Rangers continued to have chances on the break. Lee Cook again tested the keeper with a shot from outside the box, which was well held. A Kevin Gallen free kick also supplied Paul Furlong with his fifteenth of the season bit Furlongs header was saved by Simonsen.

It was a pretty dull second half to watch but Rangers were battling for everything and were close the result we desperately needed.

Stoke threw on all three subs to try and get something of out the game and Eustace went close with a neat lob which caught out Royce but landed on the roof of the net. That was a warning to Rangers and we began to look nervous again at the back.

Rangers made a couple of changes. Marcus Bean replaced Jamie Cureton with Santos moving up front. Kevin McLeod then replaced a tired looking Lee Cook.

Stoke got the ball in the net with just five minutes left. Asaba got behind the Rangers defence and flicked the ball over Royce for John Eustace to head into the goal but the linesmen flagged for offside and we could breathe again.

Stoke pushed forward to try and get the equaliser and Rob Styles, who had been excellent for an hour before going a bit mad, began to flash the cards as he booked Furlong and Santos late on in the game for very minor offences. With four minutes added on at the end the fans got a little nervous but Rangers hung on to get a vital three points which moves us into the top half again.

It wasn’t a pretty performance or anywhere near our best but the three points were vital and hopefully this will give the team a little bit of confidence going into two tough away games.

The new signings both looked good. Royce had very little to do but looked ok and Davies looks an excellent player he was dominant in the air and read the game well. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep him until the end of the season but I fully expect him to be a first teamer at Middlesbrough next season.

The improvement in several players was great to see. Padula, Cook and Gallen all looked far better than they have recently. Gallen was winning tackles and passing the ball well whilst Cook looked a threat all through the game and deserved his goal.