NOT UP FOR A FIGHT
Murty blasts players’ attitudes in Dens loss
Rangers interim manager Graeme murty last night slammed his players f or showing a lack of ‘attitude and commitment’ in their historic loss to Dundee.
as the home side celebrated a first Dens Park win over the Ibrox outfit in almost 25 years, stand-in gaffer murty — in possibly his last match at the helm — was left dumbfounded by the absence of fight shown by the visitors.
Insisting he would not accept excuses from players operating under a cloud of uncertainty following manager mark Warburton’s exit, the promoted Under-20s coach declared: ‘The disruption has got nothing to do with players showing the right attitude and commitment.
‘They were fully prepared, they know
what it meant, that they would have a battle on their hands — and that they would have to more than match that. But I’ve been honest and told them they didn’t do that for 45 minutes. ‘Neither the players nor I can be in control of that (the appointment of a new Rangers manager). They can only be in control of their attitude and physicality when they walk on to the pitch. ‘There’s no better time to go and put it right than on the pitch. They need to be ready to go. We have to be better than that. It’s not acceptable, we know that — and they know that. We’ll take this on the chin. But there’s no doubt, that’s not acceptable. ‘Dundee were aggressive, there was an organisation and they tackled hard. We didn’t match that till after half-time. ‘If you give them 45 minutes and a two-goal head start, it’s hard to get back into it.’ Goals from Mark O’Hara and Kevin Holt put Paul Hartley’s men two up at half-time and, despite Joe Garner (below) getting one back for Rangers on the hour mark, the home side could have won by more. Garner also picked up a booking that will see him sit out next month’s Old Firm game, while the loss of Clint Hill with blurred vision following a head knock after half an hour will cause concern for a team still struggling for defensive solidity. Murty added: ‘The fans have been through the wringer and they deserve better than we gave them. We can say we will endeavour to put those things right. ‘At half-time, we addressed certain issues. ‘But we need to be better than showing commitment. We need to play football with a certain style, too.’