Rangers defender Sasa Papac said he was delighted with Saturday's narrow 2-1 win over St Mirren at Ibrox despite an under par performance from the Old Firm side. Rangers maintained their unbeaten start to the Scottish Premier League campaign as a Kris Boyd double helped the Glasgow giants move up to second in the table and cut Celtic's lead to just one point. It had looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for the Buddies after Boyd fired Rangers into the lead after just 18 seconds but the Paisley side were unlucky not to equalise through Garry Brady before the SPL top-scorer got his second in the 57th minute. The Ibrox side had to make several changes to the team that drew with Unirea Urziceni in midweek due to injuries picked up and a bout of food poisoning suffered by several players after the tie in Romania. Rangers squandered a host of chances to add to their total before the effects of their European exploits seemed to take a toll on the players and fatigue seemed to play a part in St Mirren pulling one back through sub Stephen O'Donnell in the 88th minute. Despite a nervous finish left-back Papac said he was pleased with the win, which came just three days after their tiring European game, and says it will put pressure on rivals Celtic who play Falkirk on Sunday. 'It was a good day for us. We will take the three points as they are important, especially after the Champions League trip,' the Bosnian said. 'It is not easy playing only three days after a Champions League match. 'We have not lost a game in the SPL this season so I think things are going good. 'Of course when you score a goal in the first minute you are thinking it will go easy but St Mirren played well and played hard against us. But I am happy despite our poor performance. It puts pressure on Celtic as we are fighting them for the SPL title this season.' Walter Smith made three changes to the side that drew with Unirea Urziceni, bringing in Boyd, Nacho Novo and John Fleck. However, there was no place in the squad for Madjid Bougherra, who was expected to make his return from injury in the match which allowed Danny Wilson to retain his place in the centre of defence alongside veteran David Weir. The 17-year-old made his fourth start for Rangers and fellow defender Papac predicted a big future for the youngster. 'We lost a lot of players to injury but youth players like Danny and Fleck are coming in and there are others on the bench,' Papac said. 'Murray Park is good for young players and this is our future. Both (Wilson and Fleck) played great, especially Danny. I know how difficult it can be for young defenders coming in. 'It is not easy but he played well. He is a very clever boy and he learns quickly which is important. He has a big future here and he can be a great player.' Rangers defender Steven Whittaker was replaced at half-time in the match against St Mirren by DaMarcus Beasley. And his manager Walter Smith revealed he was suffering from a hamstring injury which is likely to cause him to withdraw from the Scotland squad to face Wales in an international friendly in Cardiff next Saturday. 'He had it in Bucharest and it was obviously tightening up as the match progressed,' Smith said. 