Rangers will limp into their UEFA Cup second leg game against Racing Club Strasbourg at Ibrox tomorrow without almost their entire central defence, without their most influential player Brian Laudrup, and without even a morale-boosting victory from the match against Motherwell.

Indeed, what they carry with them from the weekend game is confirmation of the defensive weaknesses which have scarred their season too often. As early as the seventh minute the defence was caught square as Tommy Coyne scored the opening goal, then a minute before half time, the Ibrox defenders spec-tated as Willie Falconer headed a ball across the face of goal and Eliphas Shivute came in to head Motherwell's second.

Fir Park manager Alex McLeish complained afterwards about his defence being caught out at the corner kick which Sergio Porrini headed beyond Steve Woods for Rangers' second equaliser . . . the type of poor defending Rangers manager Walter Smith has had to contend with since the season began.

It was only in the second half that the Ibrox defence looked more stable when the injury to Joachim Bjorklund forced them to go to a straight back four, a set-up which seemed to suit both Porrini and Tony Vidmar better than the three-man unit they used before half time.

Certainly, Motherwell were restricted to very few openings as Rangers laid siege to their opponents' goal. As McLeish conceded: ''Rangers did not allow us to play in the second half. Before that, I thought our passing game had looked good and had given them problems. Then came that change and we were forced to defend.

''Brian Martin was our rock when we were up against it. He eventually had to come off injured and, really, he had been doubtful for most of the week. Thankfully, he made it because we needed him.''

As for Martin himself, the veteran defender pointed out: ''The Rangers defenders will have to get their act together. We could sense that the Ibrox fans were nervous whenever we put their team under any kind of pressure. I can now understand why they are bringing Richard Gough back.

''Really, a few of the Rangers players are not at their best just now. Paul

Gascoigne took a little while to settle and even Brian Laudrup was not dangerous before he was injured. If you take these two players out then Rangers have problems.''

Well, one of the two will miss the Strasbourg game. Laudrup won't play against the French after being cruelly brought down by Kevin Christie 11 minutes before the interval. That tackle may be decisive as far as Rangers' UEFA Cup hopes are concerned. Without Laudrup to open up the French defence the Scottish champions may struggle to score even the

goal they need to progress.

Although the injury had improved a bit yesterday, Smith reckons his captain has no chance of recovering in time to play.

Still, they do have Marco Negri and whatever failings the Italian may have outside the penalty box there is no doubt he is a finisher of the highest quality. His goal was glorious as he hooked an angled shot into the net after rounding Woods.

Later, Woods was to have two splendid second-half saves from the Italian as well as another two from his com-patriot Rino Gattuso.

Still, in midfield and attack Rangers appear to be hitting some kind of form. The worries remain at the back and they have been increased by the injury list Smith was forced to study yesterday and by the intransigence of Australian team manager Terry Venables who has insisted that Vidmar play in a friendly in Tunisia in midweek.

The injuries to Bjorklund and Craig Moore, the absence of Vidmar and the long-term problems which have afflicted Alan McLaren and Lorenzo Amoruso mean the only first- team squad men available in that crucial area of central defence are Porrini and Gordan Petric and the Slav has been recovering from a broken nose though he is ready to play tomorrow.

Smith cannot even turn again to young Scott Wilson who performed so heroically against Ajax last season in the Champions' League because he is recuperating after a

cartilage operation.

Stuart McCall will probably return and that will add some fire to the team, possibly enough to take them through - but, make no mistake, this is a crippled Rangers side which goes into Europe.

Motherwell remain in a healthy position in the league and if they can continue to fight as they did against Rangers they should remain clear of the relegation threat which haunted them during last season.

One final observation. The referee, Alan Freeland, booked nine players, five from Rangers and four from Motherwell.

But, once more, as seems to be so common among referees today, five of these bookings were for non-physical offences, and when Falconer, booked in the first half for a cynical challenge on Charlie Miller, gave an action replay with a nasty tackle on Gattuso in the second half, the referee awarded the foul and did no more.

No doubt George Cumming will continue to tell us that our referees are ''highly respected all over Europe'' but the more we see of the inconsistency displayed at Ibrox the more we disbelieve the apologists.

Next league matches: Rangers - Hibs (a). Motherwell - Hearts (h).

The consistent goal scoring of Marco Negri who has yet to fail to find the net in a premier division game.

That may be something of a record in itself and the Italian looks sure to set even more records in this, his debut season in Scotland.