Steven Gerrard lamented the lack of a killer instinct and poor refereeing for hammering another nail in Rangers’ title coffin.

This was a match Rangers simply had to win.

Gerrard knew it, he warned his players in the build-up.

And there was then no escaping the bitter disappointment at the end of 90 minutes which saw another two points shipped in what is turning out to be a season of missed opportunities.

A goal to the good thanks to Daniel Candeias’s stunning first-half strike, Rangers should have been well clear by the break.

Last night Gerrard was also 
upset with the performance of ref 
Steven McLean.

A foul committed by Stephane Omeonga on James Tavernier in the build-up to Hibs’ goal went unchecked.

And Gerrard was shaking his head in disbelief after the end of a tumultuous match marred by scenes off it as well as failure on it.

He said: “It’s a blatant foul, the ref is five yards away. Every single official on the planet would have given a foul apart from this one tonight.

“No excuse. No one in his way, five yards away. We can talk about VAR, support for referees but if they’re not going to support themselves and call blatant fouls we can’t help.

“What’s the point speaking to refs after the game? I will back referees, it’s a difficult job, 100 mph. But a blatant foul five yards away, I can’t support that. I’m not being true to myself. He must have been the only person in the stadium who didn’t think it was a foul.”