Murty: We tossed the game away

RANGERS manager Graeme Murty has shouted loud - his players will not be downbeat by defeat by the time of the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Ten man Celtic all but clinched the league with a 3-2 victory at Ibrox yesterday as the Rangers dressing room, bouyant after drawing the Hoops in the cup a fortnight ago, was reduced to the sound of silence.

Rangers failed miserably to turn the screw on the Hoops when the visitors were reduced to 10 men early in the second half following the dismissal of Jozo Simunovic for elbowing Alfredo Morelos.

Asked is he was worried about psychological impact, Murty added: “Not at all. I have a group of players who are hurting, frustrated and wanted to do better.

“We have to learn from it and the measure of the team will be how we bounce back from that. I have no doubt as to the character of the team and we have another opportunity fairly soon to go and reveal that.

“I haven’t talked about the title once. My job is to look after this group of players. We want to push on, narrow the gap, push up the league and be competitive.

“Until the league is over, we will continue to fight as hard as we can. But my main aim is to improve where we are from where we are.

“Sometimes these knockbacks actually make you stronger as a group. “Every single supporter walking away from the game will be as down as me. The difference is that I have got an opportunity to do something about it come Monday.”