CALLUM DAVIDSON was proud of the effort of his St Johnstone players despite suffering a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox.
The Saints competed well during the first half but found themselves two goals behind at the break as Borna Barisic curled home a superb free-kick and Ryan Kent finished off a neat move.
When Joe Aribo made it 3-0 just after the interval with a near post header, there was no way back into the game for the visitors.
Davidson took his side to Ibrox on the back of a free weekend after their game with Aberdeen was called off due to the Coronavirus breaches within the Pittodrie squad.
And the new Perth boss insists there were positives to take from his first defeat in the dugout.
He said: “I was really pleased with the first half – or should I say first 45 minutes, because we lost a goal in the 46th.
“There was one lapse of concentration from David when he gave away a free-kick for the first goal. You can’t give away stupid free-kicks at Ibrox. He knows that himself.
“I thought we limited Rangers to very few chances in that first half but we went in 2-0 down.
“The message was to not concede early doors in the second half but we lost a goal to a set-play and the game was over.
“What I would say is my players never gave up.
“You could see that they were running about and creating chances right up until the end.
“I’m pleased with a lot of things and I can’t be too disappointed.
“It’s a difficult one [not having a game last weekend]. Match sharpness comes with games. But I won’t make excuses because I actually thought we performed well today.
“We’ve got a big game on Saturday against Kilmarnock.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here