Rangers manager Paul Le Guen has appealed for supporters not to desert his team after their demoralising setback at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

John Rankin's late strike earned the home side a 2-1 victory and left Rangers third in the Bank of Scotland Premier League.

Last night's defeat means Rangers are 17 points behind leaders Celtic and two points behind Aberdeen, despite beating the Dons five days ago.

Struggling St Mirren are the visitors to Ibrox on Saturday, and Le Guen insists his "tired" players will require the crowd's support, rather than to hear disenchantment.

"We need to be committed in every game and know how important every point is right now," Le Guen told the club's website . "We need to realise this very quickly as we have dropped too many.

"It seemed to me that players looked tired but we never put enough pressure on Inverness and that is why I am so disappointed.

"But we are back at Ibrox on Saturday and we will need the support from our fans.

"I know they will be disappointed but we will try our best and we must fight to get back on a good run again."