St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin said he could find no fault with the celebrating Rangers faithful outside Ibrox after admitting he had to wade through a sea of exuberant supporters to reach the stadium.
The Buddies boss saw his team swept aside by Steven Gerrard’s men as they started their title party early with a comfortable 3-0 win courtesy of goals from Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Ianis Hagi.
A huge crowd of Rangers fans breached COVID regulations to congregate outside the stadium and let off flares before the match to welcome the Gers’ squad - who will be confirmed as champions if Celtic fail to beat Dundee United tomorrow.
Players went to mark the milestone win with supporters in the corner of the Copland Road end of Ibrox after the final whistle, while manager Steven Gerrard admitted it was difficult to keep a lid on celebrations after he was pictured leaning out a window to greet fans alongside the Colombian forward.
Social distancing regulations meant the Saints were forced to walk between the crowd to reach the dressing rooms, but Goodwin - who made teenager Dylan Reid the youngest player in Premiership history when he was sent on as a second half sub - said there were no issues as he admitted he found it difficult to blame the home faithful for enjoying the occasion.
“Rangers deserve all the pats on the back they've had. You can over-analyse our own performance but at times you're just beaten by a better team," he said.
"[The fans] didn't have any impact on us. We walked through them and – although they shouldn't be there – can you blame them?
"It was all in good humour, there was no malice. I walked through about 100 of them and it was fine.
“They generated a good atmosphere and the Rangers players didn't let them down.”
