Danny Rohl felt his Rangers side took a significant step forward despite being knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup by Celtic.
A man and a goal down at half time following Thelo Aasgaard’s sending off, the Ibrox men rolled up their sleeves and deservedly forced extra-time through James Tavernier’s penalty.
And although Rangers were ultimately undone by two further Celtic goals, the German felt there were significant positives to take in defeat.
‘Consistency is the next step,’ said the head coach. ‘The last two results went in our direction but today after 3-1 everything isn’t nice.
‘But I saw us do a lot of things right. After 90 minutes, I really felt we could win this game even with 10 men. Our supporters were there for us and created a great atmosphere.
‘I’ve said there will be a few setbacks on our journey. This wasn’t a nice defeat, but even today I saw a huge step forward from a team who didn’t care if they had 11 or 10 men.
Rangers boss Danny Rohl says there are lots of positives to take from their semi-final defeat
Rangers’ Thelo Aasgaard was sent off in the first half for his high challenge on Anthony Ralston
Captain James Tavernier drew 10-man Rangers level with a second-half penalty at Hampden
‘They believed in what they were doing and what direction we’re going in. We had four times one-v-one with their goalkeeper with 10 men.
‘It’s small steps. I’m convinced if we carry on in this direction, we’ll get a lot of wins in the future.
‘That’s the job of myself and my coaches, to go in that direction. We’ll show them what was good, what we have to improve — and then we’ll carry on.’
Despite going down to 10 men. Rohl opted to keep two forwards on the park in the second half and his bravery was rewarded with a much-improved display which culminated in the equaliser.
‘At first, there’s disappointment in the dressing-room and I felt it,’ he added. ‘With 10 men, that’s a good signal that my team is disappointed.
‘After the red card we were on the front foot and brave. That was also how I acted at half-time with the team — we put one more offensive player in and changed the shape to 4-3-2.
‘We had two guys up front to put pressure on the ball and we attacked them on the last line. I felt in the space in behind we’d get chances.
‘For me, the equaliser was fully deserved. Of course, the opponent will have some moments.
‘But what we put into it, how brave we were, how we ran — it was outstanding for me.’
Aasgaard’s dismissal came after he caught Anthony Ralston with a high boot. Although the incident was reviewed by VAR, referee Nick Walsh’s original decision stood.
‘I haven’t watched the red card back yet but it’s not my part to speak about this,’ added Rohl, who also sidestepped questions pertaining to Auston Trusty only being booked for catching Jack Butland on the head and Ralston escaping a second yellow when he handled Djeidi Gassama’s shot at the penalty.
‘My focus is always on myself. I said before the game, I won’t speak about other managers, other teams or refs.’
