The old saying about never being more than a couple of games away from a crisis could be dismissed as a cliche. In truth, it is the harsh reality of life as Rangers manager.
Michael Beale should know that and understand it. If any of those that he has brought to Ibrox this summer didn’t realise it before events on Saturday, then they certainly will do now.
Beale is not on the brink of a situation that is destined to spiral out of control. The Premiership title was not lost at Rugby Park and the bigger picture is still more important than the snapshot.
Indeed, if Rangers go on to lift the silverware at the end of the next 37 matches, the performance and the result in Ayrshire will be forgiven and forgotten by the fans that made their feelings clear in the raw aftermath of a lamentable showing.
But it has altered the dynamic for Beale as he prepares for his first European tie as a manager and seeks to lead his side into the Champions League play-off round. If Servette can be overcome, the winners of the tie between PSV Eindhoven and Sturm Graz awaits.
The dream scenario for Rangers this term was to tick off the Premiership fixtures against Kilmarnock, Livingston and Ross County and head into the first Old Firm game at Ibrox with the chance to pull clear of Celtic. If group stage football could be secured as well, the new Beale era would have been off and running and the summer investment would have been recouped within a couple of weeks.
In Premiership terms, the margin for error has already slimmed and Rangers cannot afford to stumble again any time soon. When it comes to Europe, the domestic situation has heightened the senses of a demanding, expectant support as they prepare for their first home fixture of the campaign.
Another of the great buzz phrases around Rangers - one which states that every game is a 'must-win' - comes to mind here. Beale needs a victory, and a performance, against the Swiss to cool the emotions and take the sting out of a ferocious fall-out from the weekend.
Progression to the play-off round is worth more than £4million to Rangers. That itself adds an extra significance to the Servette tie, but it is what a win or a loss would mean for Beale that provides the greatest intrigue heading into two fixtures that are tough to call.
The prospect of gearing up for the Celtic clash on the back of an early European exit and with ground to make up in the title race is grim for Rangers. If it transpires, they will only have themselves to blame.
And that is why Wednesday evening is so important for the individuals and the collective. It is a chance to start moving through the gears, for Beale to show that the component parts can become a finely tuned winning machine and that Saturday was a stutter rather than a stall.
It can be put down to a false start. But only if Rangers start to motor in the coming weeks and there would be no better time than the present for the flag to be raised after an unconvincing start to the season.
The momentum built over the summer as signings were made one after the other was eroded at the weekend as Rangers failed their first test. Beale must move forward and cannot afford another step back before his side head in the right direction.
Reaching the group stages this term remains a long shot. It could even be a damned achievement, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst discovered last season, and banking a play-off cheque before embarking on a Europa League campaign could be the best of both worlds for Beale.
But seeing off Servette has now fallen into the unnegotiable category for Rangers, and it will be telling to see how Beale’s side react given that they have found themselves on the back foot so early in their time together.
Rangers already have their first black mark of the season. The next one will arrive at some point but everyone at Ibrox must hope that it is later rather than sooner.
