Rangers manager Danny Rohl insisted he could not fault any aspect of his team’s display against Celtic despite their blunt exit from the Scottish Cup.
Rohl also defended the mentality of his players who failed to cash in on their dominance over 120 minutes of the quarter-final tie at Ibrox before losing 4-2 on penalties.
Rangers had 24 attempts at goal without forcing Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo into a save of note, then saw James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama miss from the spot in the shoot-out.
It means Rangers’ only remaining chance of silverware this season is in the Scottish Premiership where they currently trail leaders Hearts by six points with nine games left to play.
Their Scottish Cup elimination came a week after they let a 2-0 lead slip to draw 2-2 with Celtic, who are a point above them in the table.
Rohl has challenged his team to now go on a perfect run between now and the end of the campaign to end it as champions.
Rangers boss Danny Rohl says he could not fault his players after their defeat by Celtic at Ibrox
‘Football is about results, I know this, but I can’t blame my team today for this performance in any single minute,’ said Rohl.
‘I saw a team from our side play 120 minutes how we wanted to. We should score. I think this is also, if you want, in these final two or three moments, a compliment to the defence from the other team.
‘But when you have 24 to one shots, when you create so many great opportunities, then I must say I’m proud of my group, how we played football.
‘We get nothing today again from this game. But when I take the first 50 minutes from last week against Celtic and today, the 120 minutes, then I see a lot of positive things.
‘We spoke after the game and we promised each other that we go now in nine finals and we try to win all these nine games and then we will see what we get.’
Rohl railed against the suggestion his players lacked the mental fortitude to get the job done.
James Tavernier misses in a penalty shootout that cost Rangers a place in the semi-finals
Rangers’ players come to terms with their Scottish Cup exit after a painful loss in the shootout
‘Mentality, mentality — guys, this word should not be the topic today,’ he said. ‘I see 120 minutes, just one team who deserve to win. It’s not about mentality.
‘When you do not have the mentality, not the personality, then you will not have reacted like we did today. We have this.
‘There’s no question mark when I see my group, what they did during the week, how we lift each other, how we prepared, how focused we are, what we can do, and you deliver such a performance in 120 minutes.
‘In football, you also need some moments of luck on your side to score in the right moments. Then in the penalties, we have one of the best takers in Tav and one of the best keepers against pens in Jack Butland, so normally there is a big chance we should win.
‘I’m convinced if you work so hard and you improve so massively, this momentum will come back and then let’s see where we are in the next couple of weeks.’
