OPENING WOUNDS

Gers desperate to avoid failing their first Premiership test for third year in a row

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RANGERS have fallen at the first in the last two title races, with their managers carted off to the knacker's yard long before the final few furlongs.

Michael Beale's bid to topple Celtic looked doomed from the moment his side slipped up on the plastic pitch at Rugby Park, with a single Kilmarnock strike feeding him to the Brad Lyons.

The 0-0 draw at Tynecastle on the opening weekend last year didn't feel quite as apocalyptic for Philippe Clement but it still set the tone for an error-prone start to the campaign that left Gers lagging behind the Hoops.

Russell Martin has now taken the reins at Ibrox and the former Rangers defender will know how important it is to get off to a winning start in the Premiership this evening.

A trip to Fir Park doesn't look quite as daunting as those openers in the last two seasons, especially with Motherwell also under new management.

But this is still a potential banana skin for Martin with Gers coming off the back of a draining midweek trip to Greece in Euro qualifying.