Dundee manager Steven Pressley admitted frustration at his side’s lack of cutting edge but insisted the experience of facing Rangers at Ibrox will serve as an important step in their development.
The visitors remained in the contest until late on before conceding twice in stoppage time to go down 3-0, and Pressley felt the scoreline masked periods where his team had shown composure in possession, without making it count.
“Disappointed, but at 1-0 down at 90 minutes I was disappointed because I think we’re better than we showed today,” Pressley said.
“At times we had possession, a lot of possession, but we didn’t really manage to create enough clear-cut opportunities.
“But some good lessons for us today. We’ve come a long way in a short period of time. I still think there’s a lot of growth in us and coming to places like Ibrox and truly believing you can win is one of the steps we need to take.”
Pressley’s frustration stemmed less from the late goals and more from his belief that Dundee had the platform to threaten more.
“The game really getting away from you doesn’t necessarily add to the frustration - I was frustrated anyway,” he said.
“I do have a genuine belief around those players. I think they’ve progressed and matured greatly and I honestly had a feeling we could come here and get a result, but it wasn’t to be.
“As I’ve said, I thought at times we showed the composure to play, we just didn’t create enough real clear-cut moments and I think we’re better than that and that was the frustration for me.”
The key breakthrough came via a Rangers penalty early in the second half, though Pressley declined to criticise the decision.
“I haven’t seen it, if truth be told,” he said.
“I genuinely haven’t seen it, but it involved a player that was playing in a different position today in Ryan Astley and I thought he was superb in the game today.”
Looking ahead, Pressley acknowledged Dundee may look to strengthen before the transfer window closes, particularly with defensive injuries mounting.
“I think we still need to bolster the squad a little bit, we certainly are looking to bring in one or two players,” he said.
“But we’ll see what the week looks like and I think it’s important that we don’t go into the final phase of the season without the appropriate squad.”
A former player of Rangers, Celtic and Hearts – Pressley has history with each title challenger – and is hopeful his Dees side can have a say in the title – even if they are not challenging for the trophy.