Mark Warburton blasts Rangers for ‘sloppy’ play

“But individual errors cost us and we’ll be better for it in the long run so I don’t think that anyone in their right mind could look at our squad and say that they lack belief”. The good news for Warburton is that no-one else has a player as quick as the former Bolton winger, but the Ibrox side can expect similar tactics from now on. I was pre-warned about it but the most important thing is we learn the lessons. “I’ve hit one or two like that but it was nice to get that one”.

“You look at the Hearts midfield with Prince Buaben and Morgaro Gomis, big Osman Sow up front and then Genaro Zeefuik”.

But, away from Ibrox and outside of Murray Park, there were inquests being conducted by fans and observers as they poured over Rangers’ first test against Premiership opposition this term.

“It can be hard playing against a fresh team who were resting up”.

Warburton also dismissed that the game in Greenock gives his side the chance to restore any lost confidence.

“They have been excellent for the season so far, so I have no doubts about that at all”. The players know that.

Mark Warburton reacts to his first defeat as Rangers manager. There are different scenarios – you can have players taken from you if bids come in, you can have injured players and others whose contracts are up. But we have got to learn. “That’s the key difference”.

“That’s how we play football”, he said.

“Not many people would have thought we’d come here and win, given the form Rangers have been in and the form we’ve been in, which has been patchy”, he told BBC Scotland.

But they failed in their first top- flight test with the Saints three goals up after just 46 minutes of the last-16 tie. Switch off at a corner the way Rangers did in the lead-up to the second goal of the night on Tuesday against most Championship opponents, and the ball is unlikely to end up nestling in the corner of your net.

Wright said: “We move on but Tuesday’s result should give the lads belief to go on a wee run”.

And Weir feels that since it is the first competitive defeat of the season for his charges, it is a new experience for them and they need to reflect upon it. Won every game in the league, home and away.

“I’d watched Rangers on TV a couple of times but Tuesday was the first time I’d seen them in person”. I still think that the gap from Championship to Premiership is way tighter up north than down the road purely because of the money.

‘We have an open forum here and if the training session is poor they can say: “That was awful”. It’s a moot point.

The supporters had barely taken their seats for the start of the second-half when O’Halloran raced through the centre of the Gers defence, past Danny Wilson and Rob Kiernan, to poke a MacLean ball past Foderingham.

“Having said that, tactically Tommy Wright got it absolutely spot on and there was a bit of naivety about some of the young Rangers players”.