Whether Wednesday night marks a turning point in this season for Glasgow Rangers remains to be seen, although it's fair to say that there were some green shoots in that midweek display.

With Lawrence Shankland having found his scoring touch again, after netting three in his last two, perhaps things are beginning to click into gear for the Ibrox side.

In an end-to-end game at Falkirk, there was a real energy and dynamism to the Gers' play in the final third, albeit while having been far too open defensively, not least after the break.

Plenty for Derek McInnes to ponder then, with changes surely in the offing ahead of Saturday's meeting with Motherwell.

What happened in Rangers' last meeting with Motherwell

It had all been going so well for Danny Rohl on the whole, until it wasn't.

Domestic cup exits at the hands of Celtic aside, the German had steadied the ship in Glasgow, having put the Gers firmly in title contention heading into the split.

At a time when the Light Blues needed to crank up the pressure on their title rivals, Rohl's men simply fell away, however, starting the final stretch with that 3-2 loss to today's opponents.

The hosts had fallen two goals behind inside the opening 25 minutes at Ibrox, including a thumping finish from Emmanuel Longelo, albeit recovered to drag themselves level through Nicolas Raskin and an in-form Youssef Chermiti.

Subsequently left chasing a winner in the dying embers, the home side were caught out on the counter by that man Longelo again, the Englishman afforded far too much time and space to curl home.

A last-gasp Chermiti miss summed things up, in truth, with Rangers subsequently spiralling to lose four in a row, their title hopes having been all but ended so swiftly against the Steelmen.

New boss McInnes needs to avoid a repeat this time around, and even having now won two on the bounce, the likes of Cammy Devlin should be fearing for their place this weekend.

Why Devlin should make way against Motherwell

With Raskin now expected to stay put after a summer of speculation, there is increased competition again in McInnes' midfield ranks, with the experienced Scot still yet to settle on a consistent, first-choice pairing this season.

The absence of Dan Neil had seen Raskin line up alongside Devlin against Falkirk, although the latter man was desperately poor, having still yet to convince following his arrival from Hearts.

There's a workmanlike, or terrier-like quality to the Aussie's games, yet little elsewhere otherwise, in truth, having failed to provide a single key pass in midweek, while recording just an 84% pass accuracy rate.

It was his carelessness in the first half that led to Falkirk's equaliser, while Devlin also helped to spark another opening for the hosts after the break, having seen his attempted clearance rebound back into the area.

Subsequently hooked on the hour mark, the 28-year-old showed little to suggest he should get the nod again this time around, with young Vanja Dragojevic likely to be Raskin's partner against Motherwell.

That's not to say Devlin is alone in having underwhelmed last time out, with the backline also coming under the microscope in that basketball-style affair.

Why McInnes needs to rotate the defence after Falkirk performance

As Wednesday showcased, with a fit and firing Shankland in tow, Rangers can still go places this season, with £8.5m man Kim Min-su also looking lively in support following his arrival from Girona.

And yet, the same old problems remain for the Old Firm outfit, with it having been their defensive woes that arguably ended their title bid last season, having conceded two or more goals in each of the final seven Premiership games of the campaign.

It's an almost entirely different backline this time around, with four of the five who started against Falkirk having been brought in this summer, although the one remaining member is that man, Emmanuel Fernandez.

There's been so much talk about the Nigerian international this summer, amid reports of interest from the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, yet those of a Rangers persuasion know what they're seeing right now, and it simply isn't up to scratch.

The former Peterborough star has his merits, having notably scored six times last season, although his impressive frame and size can't mask the chaos he is bringing to the backline.

Against Falkirk, in particular, the 25-year-old was all at sea, bizarrely falling to the ground in an attempt to win a foul in the build-up to the home side's equaliser.

Things didn't exactly improve after the break either, however, with it having been his slack pass that presented the ball on a plate to Jacob Murrell on the hour mark.

Even before that, Fernandez has been involved in the build-up to Murrell's header on goal, looking far too casual as he allowed Finley Barbrook time to dink the ball to the back post.

Worryingly, too, were his overall woes in possession, having recorded a pass completion rate of just 78%, while losing the ball 17 times in total, a tally that works out to him squandering possession once every five minutes.

As Kris Boyd put it, Fernandez is the type of defender who "makes people nervous", not exactly the traits of a man who is meant to be the leading figure in this defence.

Perhaps he is being unfairly scapegoated, with any player likely to look unsettled amid so much upheaval, yet even so, now looks like the perfect opportunity to take him out of the firing line.