The rules of a pre-season friendly: the big team are satisfied by a good workout, the result is immaterial, throw-ins are cheered enthusiastically, tackles are diplomatically avoided and scenery acts as a welcome distraction.

Fifty days after slogging their way to a Scottish Cup victory against Queen of the South, Rangers undertook their first serious physical exercise of the new season. CS Preussen Munster, of German football's fourth tier, provided sufficient cardiovascular exercise for a team that exhausted their reserves of energy during a marathon 68-game campaign.

Kenny Miller made his second debut for Rangers and in doing so became the first footballer in modern times to twice cross the Old Firm divide. He was given a harder time by a grumbling minority of Rangers' 1000-strong travelling support than he was by the German defence.

Miller was booed every time he touched the ball but the half-hearted protest subsided shortly after Rangers took the lead through a Charlie Adam penalty in 36 minutes. It was a petulant response to Walter Smith's first summer signing.

In these enlightened times, there remains a pocket of intolerance among the Rangers support and they used the tranquil surroundings of Munster to convey their unhappiness at Miller's return via Wolves, Derby and, heinously, Celtic.

There are others, of course, who have condemned the move simply on account of Miller's conservative strike average throughout his career, which cannot be disputed.

He waived a striker's right to the penalty, smacked a post and spurned a simple chance to round the goalkeeper in a willing display.

The hardcore following were denied the opportunity to give a more cordial welcome to Kyle Lafferty. The £3m signing from Burley sustained a minor injury during training at Rangers' base on the Dutch/German border and stayed at the team hotel while the rest made their way to Munster.

With Andrius Velicka due to arrive from Viking Stavangar tonight, Miller was the only new face on display and, even then, was an old one at that. Allan McGregor and Barry Ferguson were both notable absentees from the routine victory. The goalkeeper has an outside chance of appearing against Schalke 04 as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury sustained against Celtic last season.

The captain, meanwhile, is recuperating from an ankle operation last Thursday. In his place, Adam partnered Kevin Thomson in midfield and scored the opening goal from the penalty spot, after Jean-Claude Darcheville was fouled by the Preussen goalkeeper, David Buchholz. Adam added to the injury list after turning awkwardly near the end of the match and was joined by DaMarcus Beasley, whose sprightly afternoon was curtailed with a hamstring strain.

The American was a spectator for much of last season after damaging his cruciate knee ligament against VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League. He returned in time for the Scottish Cup final and is a key part of Smith's vision, providing width and inventiveness to a team shorn of Chris Burke and Steven Naismith through long-term injury.

SC Preussen are unlikely pioneers. A founding team of the Bundesliga, the Munster-based side are most famous for ending the amateur ideals of German football by becoming the first to purchase players from outwith the region. Their gradual decline has resulted in Preussen plodding around the fourth division with a modest squad. It is a far cry from the halcyon days when they were revered for their "100,000-Marks Line".

In fairness to the perennially harassed trainer, Roger Schmidt, Preussen possessed two slick operators in Mehmet Kara and the wonderfully named Massih Wassey. With Carlos Cuellar given a rest after last season's exertions, the pair kept Christian Dailly and David Weir - combined age 72 - gainfully employed.

They also wound Thomson into such a tizzy that he was replaced by Nacho Novo lest he be sent off in a friendly. His abrasive, aggressive game is not suited to such sterile fare and, of course, his tackling contravened the established pre-season protocol.