Rangers manager Steven Gerrard said he was pleased with the result but not his team's performance in their 4-1 win at Hamilton and believed his side were "frightened" when Accies scored.

Ryan Kent had put Rangers ahead in the first half but when Steven Boyd stuck a sensational equaliser with ten minutes to go, it looked like the visitors' long run without an away league win would continue.

Two penalties from James Tavernier and a stoppage time goal from Alfredo Morelos ensured a win but Gerrard didn't gloss over the performance, saying it took a scare to spark his players into action.

"Performance-wise, we weren't at it today," he said. "We weren't great but I'm pleased with the three points and the result because all the talk before the game was about our away record and how we hadn't had a win for eight months.

"The points were the most important thing for me but I wasn't pleased with our display, to be honest.

"I think we were actually frightened when they equalised - that basically gave us the rocket we needed because, at 1-0 up, we were too casual and I didn't feel comfortable on the sidelines.

"I always felt that they were going to have one opportunity or one decision that could have proved costly in terms of that win slipping from our grasp.

"But their goal scared us a bit and that sparked us into life. We then went on to win comfortably, but 4-1 flattered us."

Hamilton boss Martin Canning defended Alex penny for the first of the two penalties the Accies player conceded, and he felt his side had been denied a spot kick at a crucial point in the match.

He said: "In the first half it is a penalty for us. Mickel cuts inside Tavernier and gets held back.

"If that's anywhere else on the park, 100 per cent you get a free-kick for it, so why not in the box?

"I don't know if it's because there wasn't 2000 fans behind the goal shouting for it, and if it was the other way around and they jump up, is it a penalty?

"The first penalty they get is harsh. Alex goes and it hits his shoulder first before coming down onto his arm. I don't think it's a deliberate attempt to block the ball with his arm.

"I asked the players for a performance and reaction after the Hibs game, and we got that. We probably weren't clinical enough to make enough of our opportunities."