AS Sunday afternoons go, this was as straightforward as it will get for Steven Gerrard this season. Come next weekend, his first campaign as Rangers boss really gets off and running.

The Europa League outings against Shkupi and Osijek have, of course, been important for Gerrard, but this season is all about the Premiership for the Light Blues.

The race for the top flight title will begin at Pittodrie and there will be far more at stake than there was here as Rangers saw off Wigan thanks to goals from Alfredo Morelos, Nikola Katic and Umar Sadiq.

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Five games under Gerrard have now brought five clean sheets and if that run continues on Thursday evening then a place in the third qualifying round of the Europa League will be safely secured.

The Ibrox crowd have needed little reason to get excited following the arrival of Gerrard but that will only be maintained if results are earned.

His first weeks have been encouraging but events in the coming days against Osijek and Aberdeen will determine whether there is real momentum building.

Neither Gerrard nor supporters will read too much into the win over Wigan. There are far more important, and telling, tests on the horizon.

There were only four survivors – James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Ovie Ejaria and Morelos – from the side that started in Croatia on Thursday night as Gerrard made sweeping changes for the final warm-up match of the summer.

It was a chance for those that have been on the fringes of the squad so far this season to stake a claim for two significant challenges in the coming days.

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Gerrard is unlikely to have been swayed too much by what he saw here but there was still plenty for him to take from what was, on the whole, a rather low-key affair at Ibrox.

The performance of Glenn Middleton was certainly one of the positives for the Light Blues. Once again, the young winger made the most of his opportunity to impress.

His endeavour on the left endeared him to the Ibrox crowd and he looked dangerous when he got on the ball. In a game that lacked spark for long spells, he at least tried to inject a bit of urgency to proceedings.

A couple of early crosses came to nothing but he almost had a hand in the opening goal as he got in front of his marker to nod the ball to Goldson before the defender set up Ross McCrorie. His low shot was dragged just wide of goal, however.

That was as close as Rangers would come before the break as they struggled to find their rhythm in the final third. There wasn’t much for the home crowd to get excited about.

Wigan had brought a decent support with them to Glasgow but Paul Cook’s side posed little threat. A couple of crosses into the area aside, Jak Alnwick was virtually untested.

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At the other end, his opposite number Christian Walton had to parry a free-kick from Tavernier just before the whistle as a first half that seemed destined to finish goalless from the opening stages came to an end without the scoreboard being troubled.

It marked the end of the afternoon for Alnwick as he was replaced by Wes Foderingham and youngster Kyle Bradley as Katic joined Goldson at the heart of the Gers defence.

Gerrard would have been expecting an improvement from his side after the interval and the deadlock was broken just seven minutes into the second half.

Daniel Candeias whipped a terrific ball into the box from midway inside his own half and Morelos got there ahead of Walton to nod home. It may only have been a friendly, but it was a moment that still meant a lot to the striker as he followed up his crucial effort against Osijek with another confidence boosting goal.

The Colombian didn’t get the chance to add to his tally, however. He received treatment on the park and was then replaced by Sadiq as the striker made his debut following his loan switch from Roma.

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It was his fellow substitute Katic that doubled Rangers’ advantage. Middleton got the assist from a corner and the Croatian rose well to head home at the back post.

Sadiq didn’t have to wait long to open his account, though, as he got off and running for the Gers. Candeias’ low cross was deflected into the air and the Nigerian got the crucial touch to make it 3-0 before the next round of substitutions that saw Lee Hodson, Scott Arfield and Jamie Murphy enter the action.

Before long, Ryan Kent and Lassana Coulibaly, both of whom impressed against Osijek in midweek, were given their first taste of action at Ibrox. Come Thursday, the midfielders, on loan from Liverpool and Angers respectively, could well make their competitive bows on home soil.

With the flow of the game interrupted by the switches, it was difficult for any of those that entered the action to make an impression. The match minutes and the sharpness were all that mattered now.

The clean sheet would still have been important to Gerrard as well, however, and Foderingham ensured that run was extended once again. Middleton was penalised for a foul on Jamie Walker but the Gers keeper was equal to Will Grigg’s spot kick.

Murphy spurned a glorious chance to add to the scoreline as he scooped the ball over from inside the area. In the grand scheme of things, it mattered little, though.

Another game had come and gone for Rangers and another win had been earned. Now, Gerrard will target two more by the end of the week.