JACK DEMANDS INSTANT RESPONSE FOR HEARTS TEST

RYAN JACK has demanded a reaction against Hearts at Ibrox on Sunday after admitting Rangers lacked aggression in their Old Firm humbling.

The midfielder was introduced as a half-time substitute with his side already three goals down to a rampant Celtic on Wednesday night.

Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst claimed Jack was the best player on the pitch during the second period, but the Scotland cap could find no comfort in a dismal derby defeat that knocked Rangers off the Premiership summit.

After the loss of seven points in four league games since the winter break, Jack knows they must now meet the challenge posed by third-placed Hearts to begin a recovery.

‘We let ourselves down massively,’ said the 29-year-old as he reflected on the Old Firm loss. ‘It’s a sore one to take but, as a group of men, we need to stand up and address that.

‘We need to pick through the bones and see what is going wrong defensively and see what we can do better.

‘Come Sunday, it’s going to be another tough one. We need to stand up and be counted.

‘I just don’t think we were close enough (to Celtic), to be honest. We were too passive, we were standing off and weren’t making tackles.

‘Historically, this fixture is about winning the battle first. It’s always a battle, especially coming to Celtic Park.

‘I don’t think on that side of it we really turned up. We conceded goals which, for us, were bad goals to lose.

Jack, who has returned to the Rangers line-up from long-term injury, added: ‘We just need to take our medicine and stand up. Come Sunday, there needs to be a reaction.

‘Hearts will be thinking that we’ll be feeling the effects of that defeat. So it’s important that we dust ourselves down and discuss it and move on quickly.’