Glasgow (AFP) – Pressure will mount on Rangers manager Mark Warburton after a 1-1 draw at home to Ross County saw them drop to third in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

Alex Schalk fired County in front in the first-half before captain Lee Wallace came to the rescue with a late equaliser.

It wasn’t enough to stop Aberdeen leapfrogging Rangers into second place on goal difference — with a game in hand over the Glasgow giants — after they sealed a 2-0 win over Partick Thistle.

A chorus of jeers greeted the full-time whistle as Rangers dropped points for the 12th time in 24 matches to trail league leaders and bitter rivals Celtic, who face St Johnstone on Sunday, by 24 points.

Warburton — who secured the job on the back of an impressive spell at unfashionable English side Brentford — lamented his side’s missed chances.

“It was a very poor goal to give away and the result from that was for 15 minutes we were poor and gave them a couple of sniffs,”  said the 54-year-old Englishman.

“We got the goal and then had chance after chance, but you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Swiss veteran Philippe Senderos returned for Rangers for the first time in four months as Warburton looked to shore up his defence that conceded four against Hearts in midweek.

There was to be no marked improvement, however, and Ross County troubled the defence from the first minute as Wes Foderingham desperately scrambled away a deflected Martin Woods shot.

Rangers failed to heed the warning signs and County took the lead in the 18th minute.

Jim O’Brien beat the offside trap to scamper down the right wing and his perfectly-weighted delivery into the box found Schalk who fired past Foderingham.

A moment of madness from Foderingham then allowed County another chance as Foderingham’s slack kick out went straight to O’Brien whose cut-back found Schalk, but this time the striker sent his effort into the side netting.

More confusion in the Rangers defence saw Senderos and Clint Hill both knock each other out of the way as they went for the same header allowing Schalk through on goal but Foderingham was equal to his effort.

Rangers started the second half on the front foot and Joe Garner, who had recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered in the New Year’s Eve defeat to Celtic, came close with a header that was stopped by Fox on the line before the keeper turned it out for a corner with Jon Toral ready to pounce.

A poor backward header from Kenny van der Weg fell to Garner but the striker’s shot from a tight angle was smothered by Fox.

Rangers needed inspiration from somewhere and it came from their captain in the 71st minute. Wallace collected a poor County clearance and picked out Toral with a pass before galloping into the box to collect his  return and bury the ball under Fox from a tight angle.

Rangers came close to a winner from an unlikely source as Fox scrambled the ball over the bar after County captain Andrew Davies nearly turned Tavernier’s cross into his own net.

Hearts moved three points clear of St Johnstone in fourth place with a 3-0 win away to 10 men Motherwell.