Steven Naismith grabbed his second goal of the season as Ally McCoist celebrated his first competitive win as Rangers manager with victory against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League. Nikica Jelavic was also on target at McDiarmid Park as the Scottish champions went some way to making amends for last week's draw with Hearts and the defeat by Malmo in Tuesday's Champions League qualifier at Ibrox.

Rangers will hope this win provides a much-needed boost ahead of their trip to Sweden on Wednesday, when they must overcome a 1-0 deficit.

McCoist said: "I was really pleased. We spoke before the game about starting better than we did in the previous two games. We did that and we were sharper and stronger, and we were more direct in the opening period. We were very positive."

Dorin Goian made his Rangers debut, replacing the injured David Weir, after being granted a work permit and international clearance after his move from Palermo earlier in the week.

Saints added Marcus Haber and Kevin Moon to the side after last week's draw at Aberdeen, but the new signing Francisco Sandaza missed out because of a lack of match fitness.

The home side carved out the first real chance when Callum Davidson tried his luck with a swerving effort that was pushed to safety by Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

At the other end, Steven Whittaker teed up a shot for Naismith in front of goal, but his finish was weak and failed to trouble goalkeeper Peter Enckelman.

Saints still looked capable of grabbing the opener and were not too far away when Sasa Papac, playing in an unfamiliar left midfield role, lost possession and Murray Davidson burst through on goal, only to screw his shot wide.

However, the Scottish champions could have been ahead when Jelavic met a cross from the left from Papac and his bullet header looked net-bound, but Enckelman produced a great save.

The breakthrough came after 31 minutes, when Rangers were awarded a free-kick for a foul by Murray Davidson on Jelavic. Lee Wallace flighted the ball into the box, where Naismith was waiting to send a firm header past the grasp of Enckelman and into the bottom corner of the net.

Saints were quickly out of the traps after the break and Haber could have levelled when he unleashed a ferocious shot that fizzed just past the post.

But it was Rangers who were celebrating again, five minutes after the restart, when Naismith slotted the ball into the path of Jelavic and the Croatian striker shrugged off Callum Davidson before dispatching a low, angled drive into the back of the net.

St Johnstone made a double substitution after an hour, with David Robertson and Cillian Sheridan withdrawn, and Chris Millar and Carl Finnigan thrown into the action.

The home side could have had a claim for a penalty when Finnigan went to ground in the box under pressure from Maurice Edu, but nothing was given by referee Alan Muir.

Rangers made their first switch when Lee McCulloch was replaced by Juan Manuel Ortiz with 15 minutes to go.

Their hosts could then have set up a tense finale had they been able to pull a goal back when Finnigan set up Jody Morris for a shot that he dragged just wide of the upright.

Rangers held on for the win to ease the pressure after what had been a disappointing start to their domestic and European campaigns.