Rangers 0-0 Motherwell: Ibrox side subdued on day of possible farewells By MOIRA GORDON Published on Monday 7 May 2012 02:12 AS THE Rangers players paraded round Ibrox after this final home match of the campaign, no-one really knew just how many of them were simply waving goodbye for another season and how many were bidding a more permanent farewell to their Old Firm careers. Sasa Papac has already made it clear he will leave the club in the summer and the fans who applauded them on Saturday, despite a 0-0 stalemate, can only keep their fingers crossed that not too many of their first-team regulars follow him out the exit door. It will be an item at the top of the agenda when manager Ally McCoist travels to the USA to hold face-to-face meetings with the man expected to wrest control of the club from Craig Whyte in time for the new term. With possible signing sanctions hanging over the club, the necessity to find the kind of money needed to hold on to the quality players already at the club is even more pressing. Forced to muddle on without some of them for major chunks of the current season has been damaging enough, but the thought of losing them completely, with no way of replacing them is something all at the club find hard to countenance. Motherwell, though, are a side who have come through such turmoil and they have found the shining light at the end of the tunnel. They also have a number of key personnel coming to the end of their contracts and they have cash constraints of their own but at least they have the carrot of Champions League football to dangle in front of their squad. Rangers simply have more uncertainty. They proved on Saturday that there are youngsters coming through the ranks, with several of the Murray Park graduates involved over the course of the 90 minutes. But they also proved that inconsistency is a greater factor the more heavily those kids are relied upon. Aside from a decent penalty shout 12 minutes from the end, when Keith Lasley felled Andrew Little, there was nothing to separate the sides as the game lurched from one end to the other. The referee ignored the appeals for that spot kick and it was simply fuel to the fire for a club who feel that everyone is out to get them at the moment. Motherwell deserved their point, however. They started brightly and matched Rangers" desire and attacking threat from the outset. For a team that had struggled so badly against the Ibrox club in recent years - they are without a win over Rangers since 2002 and had lost every one of the previous eight head to heads, conceding 29 goals in the process - that approach encapsulated the resilience and self-belief that has made this such a successful season. They had already wrapped up third place, surpassed their previous record points haul, and secured a shot at the Champions League qualifiers, but they still went into the match with targets in mind. This was their last chance to get even a point from their Old Firm fixtures, and they wanted it badly. Henrik Ojamaa was the first to challenge, with others such as Jamie Murphy, Lasley and Tom Hateley all attempting to beat Allan McGregor as the game wore on. But no-one could get through. Rangers weren't sensational, nowhere near it, and when Dorin Goian was forced off with a knee injury early on they took a while to settle back in, but were still good enough to keep their guests at bay. At the other end, though, Motherwell were just as dogged. When Sone Aluko charged at them and powerful hitters like Lee McCulloch walloped shots in, they found a way of getting their bodies in the way. First it was Hateley and then it was Steven Hammell who blocked, epitomising Motherwell's determination to leave with something. The guile and the clinical final ball was missing from both teams" arsenal, though. Motherwell's best chance came in the first half, when Ojamaa burst into the box and rounded McGregor but with the angle too tight and men back on the line, his cut-back was just behind Murphy. Rangers were more potent after the break with Steven Whittaker, Lee Wallace, Carlos Bocanegra and Alejandro Bedoya all having attempts, but their best shout was the penalty claim. The fact it wasn't given summed up the latter part of a season which has given them little to cheer about.