Supporters have every right to boo us, says Warburton

MARK WARBURTON admitted the Rangers supporters had every right to boo the team following their 1-1 draw with St Johnstone last night. The Ibrox side fell behind to a fifth-minute Blair Alston strike and, despite fashioning an equaliser through Joe Garner, were second best for most of the second half.

The result leaves last season’s Championship winners in fifth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership table, nine points behind leaders Celtic having played a game more.

Warburton revealed his disappointment at dropping points at home for the third time this season and empathised with those home supporters who made their frustrations known at the end.

“It’s part of playing for Rangers,” he said. “People ask about the expectations. It’s a demanding crowd because they’re used to success. The players have to recognise it’s an expectant crowd – and quite rightly. We have to respect that and learn from that tonight. We know what the crowd wants, they’re magnificent. If we can play our game and move the ball quickly we’ll create chances, but we fell below standards.

“It was a decent first half. We went down to a very good goal then worked hard to get the goal back. Second half was below our standard. It was an opportunity missed tonight. We weren’t brave getting out, and despite possession stats, didn’t play the way we wanted to. St Johnstone are a very good team, very well-organised. We haven’t learned anything about them that we didn’t already know. They’re a team that’s very well managed. But it was an opportunity missed, at home. It was frustrating for all of us. Damage was done because we expected to take three points.”

And Warburton chose not to use Rangers’ defeat to Celtic at the weekend as an excuse. “Sunday’s game didn’t affect us,” he added. “St Johnstone played on Sunday, too, so there are no excuses that way. Sunday was an emotionally draining game but it’s part of playing for a club like this.”

The Rangers manager did, however, question the decision by referee Kevin Clancy to book Michael O’Halloran for simulation early in the contest. “I thought there were some very strange decisions. O’Halloran was going full pelt and he’s told he dived. Why?”

After dominating for most of the second half, Tommy Wright admitted he was frustrated his team had not won the game. “It was a good start and an excellent performance,” said the St Johnstone manager. “But we’re disappointed not to get all three points, particularly on the second-half showing.

“It’s never easy coming here. We’re happy to take a point but we could have taken all three. We knew we’d stay above Rangers with a positive result.”