Rangers U18s assistant coach Liam Ross cut a frustrated figure after watching his young side crash out of the Scottish Youth Cup on penalties to Queen’s Park.
It was a bitterly disappointing result on a night where Rangers never reached the levels expected at the Rangers Training Centre.
With U18s head coach Steven Smith currently involved with Danny Röhl’s first-team staff, Ross has stepped up to lead the group, and he didn’t hide his dissatisfaction with what he witnessed.
Ross was blunt in his assessment of the performance.
“Really disappointed to go out and to go out that way,” he said.
“We just weren’t at it from the start and ultimately paid the price.”
He gave credit to Queen’s Park, a side Rangers have regularly found difficult at both youth and first-team level lateley, but made it clear that the blame lay with his own team’s standards rather than the opposition’s setup.
The conditions and late pitch switch were easy excuses, but Ross refused to lean on them.
“No excuses. We just weren’t good enough with and without the ball,” he stated.
The failure to deal with two first-half set plays - both ending up in the back of the net - was the kind of naivety that left Rangers playing catch-up far too early in the evening.
Yet, despite the poor start, Rangers still dragged themselves level. A deflected finish from Zebedee Lawson before the break and Kyle Glasgow’s equalising penalty early in the second half gave the young Gers momentum and put them in position to complete the comeback.
For a spell, Rangers looked likely to turn the game on its head. But as Ross pointed out, the lack of composure in key moments cost them dearly.
“When the game becomes chaotic, that’s when we need players to step up and give us more control,” he said.
“Towards the end, any team could have scored.”
And when the match went straight to penalties, no extra-time in this competition, the shootout was over almost as soon as it began.
Rangers missed their first two efforts, handing Queen’s Park all the momentum they needed. They didn’t blink. Rangers, once again, paid the price.
Ross didn’t shy away from responsibility either. He stressed that the coaching team would review the match closely.
“I know I’ll go in and look at the game and ask is there things I could have done better?
“I’ll take the game off and be ready to go again Sunday,” he said, taking accountability in what have been unusual circumstances with Smith operating with the first team.
But the message to his players was clear: disappointment is one thing, how they respond to it is another.
“It’s football - loads of setbacks and disappointments, but it’s how they respond.
“That’s the main thing.”
And with another league match coming quickly on Monday against St Mirren, Ross believes the timing is ideal.
“It’s the best thing for us - we need to put it right Monday.”
Rangers still have silverware to play for, with the league campaign and the Glasgow Cup beginning in December.
Ross made the target plain: “We make sure we go and win those competitions.
“It’s as simple as that between now and the end of the season.”
On a night where Rangers fell well short of expectations, Ross reminded his squad that setbacks are part of the pathway - but standards must remain non-negotiable.