Rangers comfortably advanced to the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup with a 2-0 victory over Hibernian at Ibrox on a day overshadowed by fan protests against head coach Russell Martin and CEO Patrick Stewart.

Thousands of supporters gathered outside the main entrance to the stadium before kick-off to chant for the immediate removal of Martin and Stewart, and those protests continued into the ground.

Play was halted after 12 minutes when fans threw an assortment of small balls onto the pitch and displayed a banner reading ‘Delaying the inevitable. Martin must go’.

It was not long before the boos started, either. The Ibrox crowd of 34,682 responded viciously when Martin Boyle knocked the ball into the Rangers net on 19 minutes. Fortunately for the hosts, they were spared by the VAR team who disallowed the goal for handball.

Ironically, it would be Nicolas Raskin who scored the opener on his return to Martin’s side after his two-match exile. The Belgium international had been bombed out of the matchday squad for previous matches against Hearts and Celtic, but the fans’ favourite made his mark with a goal and a ‘player-of-the-match’ performance.

Raskin met captain James Tavernier’s corner to head in for 1-0 after 42 minutes before summer signing Bojan Miovski scored his first Rangers goal just before half-time to make it 2-0.

There were no boos at the break this week, but fan protests soon resumed in the second period.

Seven minutes after the restart, the Rangers’ ultras section unveiled a banner which read ‘Quick to blame fans. Slow to admit failure. Stewart out’ – and this was met by applause from the majority of the home support.

Martin’s side dominated the rest of the game, however, and missed some big opportunities to extend their advantage further. Perhaps the win is enough to save the under-fire head coach, at least for now…

Does this paper over the cracks?

It seems harsh to ask this question after a win and a clean sheet in a cup quarter-final, but for the first 42 minutes, it looked like another case of deja vu.

Defensively vulnerable, toothless in attack, slow in the build-up and without an attempt on target.

Had Boyle’s disallowed effort stood, we could have been talking a very different game. Hibs had their tails up and Boyle had only just missed a big chance for the opener a couple of minutes prior.

Admittedly though, Rangers looked a lot better, but the bar is not exactly high after just three wins in their first 12 matches this season.

The win should be enough to secure the head coach’s position, but this was not a case of Russell Martin’s Rangers blowing Hibs away.

If there is any way back for Martin with the supporters, then his team will need to raise their level again.

Which version of Hibs did we get?

After storming to a third-place finish last campaign, despite being bottom of the table at the start of December, the big question being asked of Hibs this term was: ‘can they remain consistent over a full season?’.

That is yet to be determined but there already seems to be wild inconsistencies in David Gray’s side’s level of performances and results.

A valiant European qualifying expedition, where they took FC Midtjylland, Partizan Belgrade and Legia Warsaw all to extra-time over two legs, was ultimately unsuccessful, but it left the club’s supporters a lot to be excited about.

A string of good performances on the continent teased the fans, but Hibs have struggled to get going domestically.

Now winless in five, Gray must rediscover the form that inspired their winning run earlier this calendar year.

What’s coming up in the Scottish Premiership?