Those interested in the whereabouts of Walter Smith's big toe might be advised to recruit a proctologist. Madjid Bougherra, Rangers £2.5m recruit from Charlton, disclosed after Rangers' unconvincing win over Falkirk on Saturday that the Ibrox general had given his troops an unequivocal message before they went over the top of the trenches as the whistle blew on the start of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

The Rangers players raced out with Uncle Walter's toe in close proximity to their nether regions. "We had a meeting yesterday with the gaffer and Ally McCoist," said Bougherra after the first assault had gained the prime objective of three points. Much of what the Algerian centre-back had to say was standard stuff about "playing at 200%" in every game for the fans and how Rangers are "a big club" that makes special demands.

But the tone of the meeting is best summed up by his observation when asked if the players were requested to make an input into the discussion.

"The manager speaks and we listen," he said. I bet they did.

So with one bound Rangers are free. Allan McGregor's leap to his left to deny Michael Higdon's penalty was followed by Kris Boyd knocking a header across the box for Kyle Lafferty, who showed glimmers of his potential, to take a neat touch and cross the ball for Andrius Velicka to score. And everything is all right again. Not quite. Rangers are certainly back, but only to where they were at the end of last season.

The good news is that Bougherra did well. His first touch invited a hump up the park but instead he found Steven Whittaker with a sharp angled pass. Understandably, he had moments of some anxiety but he played well with Kirk Broadfoot, whose fleetness of foot and swiftness in the challenge regularly denied Falkirk.

Lafferty started brightly and has the ability to drift past defenders. Velicka scored from an easy chance which is the least one expects from a striker. McGregor, captain for the day, was rarely troubled before making the crucial penalty stop. The rest struggled. Christain Dailly found John Stewart difficult to stop, Whittaker conceded the penalty and looked no more comfortable in right midfield than he has at right-back recently. Lee McCulloch is not a central midfielder and Kevin Thomson is a peripheral figure.

So how did Rangers manufacture a victory from these unpromising ingredients? They put the ball in the Falkirk net and stopped Falkirk putting the ball in theirs.

Boyd, who endured a miserable afternoon, won a header from a long ball and found a colleague in space to create an unmissable chance. Higdon, who suffered in similar fashion to Boyd, could not make that sort of telling intervention.

Falkirk have a midfield of both promise and accomplishment. Patrick Cregg, Kevin McBride, Scott Arfield and Russell Latapy were assured in possession and slick in their passing. But they never looked like they were going to score.

Not even, perhaps especially, when Higdon stepped up to take the penalty. John Hughes praised the forward for his bravery for taking the spot kick. But bravery should not come into it. Who would you want taking a penalty kick that will almost certainly beat Rangers? A VC-winning Gurkha or a player who has demonstrated all afternoon that he has both touch and confidence. Cregg wanted to take it and the team should have been informed from the touchline that it was the Irishman's turn.

There is also an accepted truth in Scottish football that Falkirk are wonderful to watch. They are not. They can be pleasing for long spells but ultimately they become frustrating. "It is the last bit of the play that we need, to put the ball into the net," said Jackie McNamara after a personal performance that suggested he will be crucial as the season progresses for Falkirk. "It reminds me of Celtic under Tommy Burns when we were taught to pass and move," he said of life under Hughes and the disappointment of outpassing Rangers but losing the match.

"The only difference was that Andy Goram wasn't there," he said, referring the Celtic nemesis of old. But McGregor was.

The lessons were clear for both sides. Smith needs midfield inspiration urgently. He knows this and is working on it. Falkirk need to grasp that variation in play is not just about switching the angle of attack.

This is a well-coached side with excellent players. But they need goals. Steve Lovell, waiting in the wings, is the next contender to audition for the Anthony Stokes Scorealike Award.

But Hughes may have to accept that sometimes the long punt forward to a centre-forward who can knock the ball down for an onrushing midfielder or striking partner is a legitimate tactic.

The beautiful game is often won by ugly methods. Rangers were not pretty on Saturday but the scoreline looks much attractive from their point of view than from Falkirk's perspective.