GARY MCALLISTER was pleased with a straightforward night at the office as Rangers returned to action with victory over Partick Thistle.

The champions earned a 1-0 win at Firhill thanks to Cedric Itten's late strike that came just minutes after James Tavernier had seen his penalty come back off the post.

Steven Gerrard's side make the trip to face Tranmere on Saturday and assistant manager McAllister told RangersTV: "We spoke before the game and said Thistle would give us a good test and it was.

"It was a great exercise tonight with 20 outfield players getting 45 minutes, which is getting minutes into their legs.

"Clean Sheet. OK, we missed a penalty.

"But I liked the goal. Ianis was impressive with his back post header, a good knock down to Cedric and a good goal.

"The second half we played more senior players on the pitch and you could see the composure and the quality.

"Looking at Steven Davis again, outstanding and I thought he was the pick of the game tonight.

"Stephen Kelly did fantastically well but overall we are delighted for all the players and they are looking pretty sharp."