Graeme Murty has said that Rangers simply forgot the basics as we looked for Old Firm victory over Celtic at the weekend.
Hosting Brendan Rodgers’ side at Ibrox on Sunday for the latest clash, Rangers were looking to improve our record against Celtic this season and close that gap at the top of the table and having taken the lead twice through Josh Windass and Daniel Candeias, with the visitors hitting back on both occasions Murty clearly felt too many players saw the headlines as Jozo Simunovic saw red for an elbow.
Unfortunately they then took the lead and registered four straight Ibrox wins since 1909 and all but ended outside title hopes for most.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media following the game, Murty was clearly frustrated as he felt we were the architects of our own downfall in the match.
‘I am immensely frustrated because I don`t think we will ever give ourselves a better opportunity to go and win the game. We started brilliantly and then lacked composure, got carried away with the atmosphere and they got back into it with a good hit from them but a poor goal from us. Then I thought it took us 15-20 minutes to actually re-establish our composure and I think everyone in the stadium was a little bit rocked by it.’
Murty went on to say.
‘We go ahead again and then we concede an awful goal one minute before half-time and that is a fundamental flaw and error that shouldn`t happen at this level. We started the second-half a little bit better; we started to have a little bit of success and the sending off was a pivotal moment. After the sending off we lost composure and possession, we started lumping crosses in from deep rather than actually playing through.’
Labouring the point.
‘Once again we gave a really really poor goal away and the basics really cost us today in terms of keeping people outside, not letting them inside and you have to be able to do that at this level, if you can`t do that at this level then you get punished. We then went up the other end and the first time we actually completed our pattern, how we look and how I want us to look, of playing short and sharp and intricate and through we got through, the keeper makes a save and we got a chance to score from four yards and we don`t take it. Those are the small margins and the basics and they weren`t good enough today, albeit that we need to improve in lots of areas.’
Murty went on to admit that post game with the emotions running through his head he couldn’t fairly analyse the game in any really relevant way such was his frustration and he also felt for the fans as he knew they’d gone through the wringer as well.
‘In the emotion of it right now, before I actually analyse all the things we need to do I am immensely frustrated for the supporters and the players because we put ourselves in a right good situation and we have come away with nothing. It is a lack of concentration, a lack of switching on at the right times and you don`t get opportunities like that to catch up against players of this calibre. If you give them an opportunity they go and score and it is exactly what we talked about in the brief and all week.’
With David Bates being stretchered off with an ankle injury 15 minutes in Murty admitted that was hardly ideal, but hopefully Bates hasn’t suffered too bad an injury.
‘It affected us quite a bit because he is a good presence and he has got good pace but let`s not talk about David yet until we actually get him assessed. I would rather talk about the people on the pitch because they had more than enough experience and opportunity to go and win that and we have managed to throw it away. He has been to hospital, he`s had an X-ray on his ankle and we are waiting for the results.’
