Ange Postecoglou doesn’t seem prone to introspection and is rarely prone to self-doubt, but maybe, just maybe, a small part of Tottenham’s manager wishes he had never left Glasgow.

Things were much simpler for the Australian when he was collecting trophies during his Celtic days. Back then, as well as entertaining, Angeball worked quite a bit and enjoyed putting the Rangers in their place.

Such old certainties appeared to be cruel chimeras as Postecoglou failed to turn back the clock here, with his current Spurs players returning to the airport with a record of just one win in their last eight games.

In truth, a draw was the least the Rangers deserved from a Battle of Britain punctuated by a soundtrack of renditions of “Sacked in the Morning” aimed at Postecoglou’s ears.

It was a bitterly cold night with temperatures hovering around freezing on the Clyde, but nothing could certainly match the chill inside that Tottenham fans must have felt as they watched Philippe Clement’s side squander their chances of direct entry into the Knockout phase of the Europa League increased and their guests left I think about the lottery of the playoffs after the last two games of the initial phase in January.

Perhaps everyone had underestimated the Rangers team, who are currently third in the Scottish Premiership. After all, they were unbeaten in their last eight games, and when Nedim Bajrami forced the excellent Fraser Forster into a fine save, with the fingertips of Tottenham’s former Celtic goalkeeper getting between the ball and the top corner, it was easy to see why.

At this point, Timo Werner was no longer convincing every time he touched the ball and the Rangers dominated with their incredibly fast counterattacks. At times, Tottenham’s defense was extremely dangerous as Forster had to cleverly parry against Vaclav Cerny somehow failed to meet Jefté’s wonderfully inviting cross in front of Bajrami, which had to be fired from close range.

After slipping to 11th in the Premier League and considerable debate over both the viability of Angeball and his own job security, Tottenham’s manager needed a good night’s sleep on his first return to Govan but instead appeared increasingly stressed.

Despite all his previous successes at Celtic, Postecoglou only won one of his four visits to Ibrox with his old employers, and here he could have done without having to use Archie Gray as a replacement centre-back in a defense sorely lacking, the injured Micky van de Ven .

When Forster made another excellent save from Cerny, this time with his foot, it was clear that Gray and Co. were struggling to cope with Rangers’ speed on the counterattack. It didn’t help that the visitors treated the ball like a poisonous object. With the exception of the efficient Yves Bissouma, they lost possession with worrying frequency, while Clement’s players relished stopping them at a blistering pace, leaving James Maddison and Co. no time to sprinkle stardust on the proceedings.

The Rangers deservedly took the lead at the start of the second half. It started with a high cross from James Tavernier and ended with Hamza Igamane firing a superb left-footed shot that left Forster completely helpless and Pedro Porro no doubt thinking about how easily Igamane had evaded him.

At least it helped motivate Spurs and when Jack Butland finally made some important saves, the equalizer was imminent. It finally happened as Dominic Solanke and Maddison belatedly showed their class, deconstructing the home side’s defense before substitute Dejan Kulusevski drilled a deceptive left-footed finish beyond Butland’s reach.

Although Tavernier’s fine block subsequently denied Solanke, another substitute, a goal from Forster’s brilliance only further prevented Cyriel Dessers from scoring a late home win that would have only reinforced the “sacked in the morning” refrains.