Rangers face another season outside the top flight of Scottish football after Motherwell thrashed them 3-0 at Fir Park to secure a 6-1 aggregate win in their Premiership play-off final on Sunday.

Trailing 3-1 from Thursday's first leg at Ibrox, Rangers knew they needed to score in the return and went on the offensive in the first half without really testing 'keeper George Long.

Their task was made tougher in the 52nd minute thanks to 'keeper Cammy Bell's howler as he punched Marvin Johnson's deflected shot into his own net.

Motherwell then added a second in the 70th minute through Lionel Ainsworth's deflected effort and John Sutton scored a stoppage-time penalty to extend the Fir Park side's 30-year stay in the top flight.

For Rangers, absent from the Scottish Premiership for three years following liquidation and their enforced demotion to the bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012, it means another year in the Championship where they will face stiff challenges from Hibernian and relegated St Mirren in their bid to win promotion next season.

And a disastrous day for Rangers was summed up at the end when substitute Bilel Mohsni was caught on television punching and kicking Lee Erwin after being pushed by the Motherwell player.

Kris Boyd, restored to the Rangers starting line-up, was heavily involved early on and saw his fiercely struck free-kick blocked before heading straight at Well 'keeper Long after connecting with Shane Ferguson's cross.

Motherwell's nervous start continued as Louis Laing's poor back header allowed Boyd a sight of goal but he blasted his effort wide from 20 yards.

Long then had to tip a looping header from Marius Zaliukas over the bar as Rangers continued to threaten.

Motherwell grew into the game and Erwin, who grabbed the opener last Thursday, was the first to try his luck with an angled shot that went narrowly wide.

Stephen McManus sent a header off target before Johnson came inches away from opening the scoring with a curling effort that whistled just wide with Bell at full stretch.

Zaliukas then had a great chance to fire Rangers in front in the 43rd minute as the ball landed at his feet from a corner but the defender blasted his effort high over the bar.

Any hopes Rangers had of forcing their way back into the tie were extinguished in the 52nd minute when a howler from Bell handed Motherwell the lead.

Johnson jinked past a couple of challenges before letting fly with a strike that took a wicked deflection off Zaliukas. Backtracking Bell should have gathered the ball on the line but he opted to try and punch it away and instead knocked it into his own net.

Rangers captain Lee McCulloch came close with an acrobatic effort from a corner kick and Haris Vuckic sent a curling effort straight at Long as the Ibrox side attempted to find a way back into the game.

But it was Motherwell who were to add another in the 70th minute through Ainsworth. Johnson went on a rampaging run down the left wing before laying the ball off to Ainsworth whose shot from the edge of the box took a deflection off Zaliukas on its way past Bell.

And the home side then rubbed salt in the wound for Rangers when Sutton slotted home a stoppage-time penalty.