How can Rangers stop Celtic trampling all over them in future? McLeish’s answer was simple.

He said: “Get bigger players to cope with their physical side. And we have to score more goals.

“The first 18 months I was here we had to score more than one goal to beat Celtic because they invariably picked something up from set-pieces.

“I’m not saying they only beat us with set-pieces but by and large they have scored the majority of their goals that way.”

Rangers have already hired Auxerre defender Jean-Alain Boumsong on a lucrative Bosman and the Ibrox faithful are hoping the France international can fulfil the powerhouse role at the back that Bobo Balde provides for Celtic.

But McLeish conceded his side were out-muscled in other departments too, most notably midfield where Ferguson’s absence is still felt.

He said: “Stevie Hughes has been thrust in as one of the main midfielders this season and when you consider he is following in the footsteps of a player like Barry Ferguson it is a very difficult task.

“He is not quite at the level Barry is at but in terms of his development he has played in a lot of big games this season and it should serve him well.

“But unfortunately we have not been strong enough to cope with Celtic this season.”

One player who has made a huge impact this season despite a lack of stature is winger Chris Burke, who came on as a substitute just before the hour mark.

The 20-year-old’s display was impressive enough for questions to be asked afterwards why he had not been given a start ahead of the man he had replaced, Peter Lovenkrands, who had squandered an excellent first-half chance.

Burke, who is on Scotland Under-21 duty this week, will surely start the majority of the remaining games now but McLeish argued his decision had been based on the performances put in by other players during heavy victories over Dundee and Dunfermline the previous week.

He said: “We still created three chances in the first half. It is arguable that we may have made more with Burkey on but I went with the team that played the last two games.

“I know Celtic are on another level but I felt the players did well in those two games. Craig Moore was the only change from the midweek match.

“It is difficult to get it 100% right and I don’t think Burkey would have stopped the set-piece goal. With the contribution he gave us we could have created more opportunities but I don’t think I was wrong in my selection.

“You could look at other players and say Fernando Ricksen could have started or Steven Thompson could have started but I thought Michael Mols was excellent. He has looked really bright in the last couple of games.”

Ricksen had been available again after serving the first of his four-match ban for elbowing a player in a cup semi-final.