When his new-look Rangers team were knee-deep in the brown stuff last month, Derek McInnes was consistent in his messaging.
After defeats to Hibernian, Jagiellonia Bialystok and Jablonec had brought a swift end to his honeymoon period as manager, McInnes repeatedly stressed the need for further new additions.
With the transfer window now closed, and with lavish investment having been pumped into the squad, it is a crutch he can no longer use.
And this was so nearly a night when McInnes went all the way back to square one. If recent wins over Aberdeen and Motherwell lifted the mood, this was almost a major reality check against St Mirren.
The irony of the last-gasp hero was lost on no one. Bojan Miovski very nearly left at the end of the transfer window and parted company with his management agency, so unhappy was he at how things had been handled.
He became the forgotten man and would effectively be the fifth-choice striker if everyone else was fit, behind Lawrence Shankland, Youssef Chermiti, Ryan Naderi and new £9million signing Kevin Kelsy.
Bojan Miovski has started this season as Rangers’ fifth-choice striker but was the hero at Ibrox
But Miovski popped up in the nick of time last night, coming off the bench to score in the dying moments to get McInnes and Rangers out of jail.
In doing so, he secured a third 1-0 win on the bounce for Rangers, who, for all it was ugly in the second half, now head into Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup clash against Celtic here at Ibrox in buoyant mood.
At the end, McInnes lost himself. The Rangers fan inside him became impossible to contain; singing, cheering and fist-pumping from his position in the dugout.
This should have been a whole lot more comfortable. Rangers were utterly dominant in the first half, spurning a series of great chances.
A St Mirren side, coached superbly by Craig McLeish, came roaring back at them in the second half and so nearly made them pay for that profligacy.
But the reality of Miovski’s late winner is that Rangers remain five points behind Celtic in the title race, with a league clash to come at Parkhead once the cup tie is out the way.
In the context of the season, and whether or not McInnes can inject any major forward momentum into all of this, it will be a huge week.
With the absence of Shankland forcing him to shuffle his pack, McInnes made three changes in total to the team that beat Motherwell 1-0 last weekend.
Miovski gets airborne as he watches his game-winning effort sails past Jacob Chapman
A change of shape to a 4-4-2 saw Kelsy partner Naderi up front, with Badredine Bouanani also making a first start on the wing.
St Mirren arrived at Ibrox on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Celtic in Paisley, a game in which they actually gave a decent account of themselves in what has been a decent start to the new campaign.
Indeed, the only real blot on the copybook so far for the Buddies was the 5-1 loss they suffered here in the Premier Sports Cup last month.
Rangers made a fast start and really ought to have been ahead after only six minutes when Nico Raskin slipped a neat pass into the path of Naderi, but his shot was straight at Jacob Chapman.
Raskin was the next to have a terrific chance to open the scoring when he connected with Bouanani’s cross, only for Chapman to tip his header wide with a good save.
The combination of Djeidi Gassama and James Penrice down the left flank was causing St Mirren a lot of problems.
A neat combination between the pair of them saw Penrice send a lovely ball across the face of goal and it took a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Louis Jackson to deny Naderi a tap-in at the back post.
Rangers were banging on the door. On 22 minutes, Chapman made an excellent double save to thwart Gassama and then Bouanani.
A relieved Derek McInnes hails late goal hero Bojan Miovski for his priceless contribution
Saints defender Calvin Ramsay almost scored a spectacular – and utterly bizarre – own goal as he caught the ball flush on the volley and sent it flying towards the top corner. Once again, Chapman to the rescue.
With half an hour on the clock, it was no stretch to say that Rangers could easily have been two or three goals up on the balance of play and chances created.
Although they enjoyed some neat and tidy spells of possession, St Mirren were hanging on in defence. Having started the match in midfield, Alex Gogic eventually dropped back to make it a back five.
It was proving to be a night of frustration for Rangers. For all their dominance, the scoreline remained locked at 0-0 as the teams went in at half-time. A need to find more of a cutting edge is something that McInnes will have to address moving forward.
Rangers were disjointed at the start of the second half. McInnes eventually changed things on the hour, with Kelsy and Bouanani replaced by Min-su Kim and Findlay Curtis.
It was a frustrating night for Kelsy. If this was an audition to start against Celtic on Sunday, the big Venezuelan striker did not make the most of the opportunity.
St Mirren looked far more at ease in the second half, with Ramsay fizzing a free-kick just over the bar, as the tension inside Ibrox started to grow.
The visitors spurned a brilliant chance to take the lead when Fraser Taylor scampered through one-on-one, but Ivor Pandur stood tall to make a vital save.
Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin squares up to St Mirren’s Ryan Carr as things get heated
The natives were now very restless. When news filtered through that Celtic had taken the lead in Perth, Rangers were staring at a seven-point gap to their rivals.
Playing as the No10 after McInnes changed the system to a 4-2-3-1, Min-su made a difference with his pace and direct running ability when he came on.
But the game was on a knife-edge. Rangers started losing the ball in terrible areas inside their own half, the crowd blowing a gasket each and every time they did so.
There was an extended period around 70 minutes or so when St Mirren knocked the ball around quite superbly and controlled the game inside the Rangers half.
The game had flipped on its head and Rangers had lost all control. On the touchline, McInnes needed to find answers.
On came Miovski and Cammy Devlin, off went Raskin and Gassama. The changes had the air of desperation as Rangers desperately sought the breakthrough.
It finally arrived with only seconds left to play as a long punt upfield from Pandur was flicked on by Naderi, with Miovski racing through on goal.
He dinked a lovely finish over the top of Chapman, with the ball just dropping underneath the bar and into the net.
Bedlam in the stands, but a mighty sigh of relief in the dugout. Rangers need to be a whole lot better than this. But, right now, they are clinging on and scraping by. A third straight 1-0 win tells you that.
