'Dogged Rangers and powder-puff Celtic serve up derby to forget'

Half an hour after an almost offensively poor Old Firm derby had ended - a slugfest in the bearpit - a seagull swooped down from above the Sandy Jardine stand at Ibrox.

In the millisecond it took to flip a piece of bread in the air and shove it down its beak while staying airborne it provided more entertainment than the players had done for the 90 minutes that went before. It was about the only graceful thing we saw all day, a rare amount of accuracy in the wake of one of the worst Old Firm games in living memory that limped to a 0-0 conclusion.

It's not often you could say it of Russell Martin in his time as Rangers manager, but in the aftermath, he nailed it.

When talking about the strengths of his team's performance, he spoke of their fight, their aggression, their desire, their spirit and their togetherness. You couldn't disagree with any of it. This was a game to make the eyes bleed, but at least the beleaguered Rangers manager saw something different from his team - organisation, resilience, a clean sheet.

Another draw makes it the worst Rangers start to a league season since 1983, but they've spent so long in a black hole in recent times that this must have felt better than the stuff that's gone before.

Those who predicted a shellacking on the pitch and a visceral uprising in the stands were proven wrong. A few half-hearted boos was the extent of it.

For a defence that had conceded six in Europe during the week and had given up multiple opportunities via slapstick moments in domestic football, this was welcome respite.

It will also have come as a pleasant surprise for the club's owners to see a team with a bit of heart, if not a lot else. They might have been steeling themselves for some thunder and lightning from the fans. Instead, they would have their views on their choice as manager reinforced. Martin, it would appear, has their total backing and is going nowhere. For now.

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