Rangers boss Mark Warburton admits his new-look side still has a long way to go before they can claim to be the finished article.
The former Brentford boss watched his team kick-off their Ladbrokes Championship promotion bid with a 3-1 win over St Mirren.
But despite seeing his side fly out of the traps at a sold-out Ibrox, Gers failed to kill off Saints until Dean Shiels bundled home the third goal two minutes from time.
Lee Wallace had fired the hosts two goals up within the opening 25 minutes but Cameron Howieson struck back immediately to halve the deficit.
And Ibrox was left holding its breath 10 minutes after the break when James Tavernier's trip on the impressive Paul McMullen handed the Buddies a penalty - but skipper Stevie Thompson let the Light Blues off the hook with a wild spot-kick.
"We have to recognise we need to be more clinical," said Warburton. "The second half we had chance after chance but 2-1 is a dangerous scoreline.
"A couple of times we were lose and they broke on us. It's about keeping discipline with pitch geography. We got away with it when they missed a penalty.
"But overall I thought we were the better side. Lee Wallace was outstanding for us. It was a first-class performance.
"We have to take our chances though. We only met six weeks ago so we are far from the finished article. There's a lot more to come from this group of players.
"With their work ethic and quality, I think we will get better and better."
Wallace slammed home the opener after four minutes before finishing coolly after Jason Holt cut the Saints defence in two with a precise pass.
McMullen teed up Howieson with an equally fine ball seconds later though but Thompson wasted the Buddies' chance to level.
Shiels then calmed Gers' nerves as he kneed the ball home at the second attempt from David Templeton's cross.
The cavalier approach insisted upon by Warburton, though, left his side wide open at times and keeper Wes Foderingham had a few close calls with some lose passes.
But his boss declared: "I don't mind a mistake. The only way you learn is by mistakes. You can't ask players to be brave - but then tell them not to make mistakes.
"They are young players but they have to learn to dominate the football. You have to be brave to get started.
"If we take some risks, hopefully it is a calculated one."
St Mirren boss Ian Murray admitted his side had been blown away by the ferocious noise created by the pumped-up home fans.
He said: "I think the crowd and the occasion got to the young guys. They have not played in this environment before and you could see that. But their reaction to the second goal was superb.
"It was a huge blow when we missed the penalty because we felt we still hadn't played to our potential at that point, so to get to 2-2 would have been great."
Source: PA
