Comfortable win satisfies Walter Smith as Colin Calderwood's misery continues

YOU do not always need maximum effort to take maximum points, as Rangers proved last night with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hibernian which left Walter Smith quietly satisfied. Two goals in the first half ensured the champions returned to winning ways after their loss at Tynecastle four days earlier, and allowed them to conserve their energy for much of the second half.

"The game was fairly even for the first ten minutes or so," Smith said. "After that we started to take control. "Hibs had their best spell at the start of the second half but then we managed to control the game through to the end. After losing at the weekend we're obviously delighted to win the game."

Having been able to relax for much of the evening, Smith became animated only when asked to comment on the presence at Easter Road of an Arsenal scout, supposedly there to watch Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor. "There were probably about 20 scouts here tonight," he said. "Were they all watching Allan McGregor? We have 20 scouts come to every game. I'm sure Arsene (Wenger, the Arsenal manager] would have phoned me if he wanted to take him. As soon as he phones I'll let you know right away."

One controversial moment of a routine match was a second-half clash between Paul Hanlon and Nikica Jelavic. Hanlon claimed the Rangers goalscorer elbowed him, then appeared to catch Jelavic late, and the Bosnian squared up to the Hibs defender. Both players might have been sent off, but the referee applied common sense and booked them.

Hibs manager Colin Calderwood continues to wonder where his side's next win - or even their next goal - might be coming from. His team have failed to score since last year, and continue to make scoring easy for their opponents.

"The first goal was our fault - it was from our possession that we gave away the free-kick the goal came from," Calderwood said. Rangers' second, scored by Jelavic, came from a short pass-back on his debut by on-loan defender Richie Towell.

Having also recruited Martin Scott and Matt Thornhill, Calderwood still hopes to add more new blood over the next few days. "We're quite far down the line with one more," he said. "If we got two, that wouldn't be a surprise."