ARTHUR NUMAN admits he was astonished by Connor Goldson's post-match comments after Rangers crashed out of the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday.

The Ibrox outfit were defeated 3-1 by Hibernian after Martin Boyle slammed home a first-half hattrick at the national stadium.

After the match Goldson claimed that the Rangers squad had lost some of their hunger before revealing that he felt the game was over at the interval despite Scott Arfield grabbing a lifeline before the half was out.

Numan was shocked as he heard the comments and he responded to Goldson's interview in his 5Stars column this week.

He said: “To lose a semi-final in that way was unacceptable. I can't believe the manner of the defeat. I was then even more surprised by Connor Goldson's comments in his interview on television at full-time.

“For a Rangers player to say the game was over at half-time when the team are 3-1 down was an astonishing admission.

“To also say that the team has lost a bit if hunger was equally alarming. How can you have lost a bit of hunger when you have won one trophy in three seasons?

“Yes, I get that the trophy was one of the most important in the club's history and Steven Gerrard and the players will always be remembered for it.

“But you need to go and win again. And again. And again. And again. Rangers is about winning silverware on a regular basis. If you don't have the hunger and desire to do that then you should be asked to leave or be sold on.

“All it needed from our players was to get a goal at any stage during the second-half and then we would have had Hibs on the ropes. We could have quite easily got an equaliser.

“Remember, we were playing against a Hibs team who hadn't played since last month and last won a game on September 26th.

“It wasn't Bayern Munich or Chelsea we were playing. What happened to the never-say-die attitude?

“Look at the Liverpool team that came from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win the Champions League in Istanbul.

“Earlier this season in the Scottish Championship, Hamilton were 4-0 down to Raith Rovers with 25 minutes to go and got back to 4-4.

“In 2011, Newcastle were 4-0 down to Arsenal and staged a memorable comeback to get a draw. That's what it's all about. You must never give up and throw in the towel."

Numan went on to share his delight for his fellow countryman Giovanni van Bronckhorst who landed the Rangers job after Steven Gerrard left Ibrox for Aston Villa.

He continued: "Let me state that I am delighted that Giovanni van Bronckhorst is the new man in charge of Rangers.

“I said last week that he has the club in his heart and is a winner. He will get it right and succeed. I'm positive about that.

“He is a former team-mate and we have stayed friends. I spoke to him on Sunday morning, just a few hours before kick-off against Hibs at Hampden Park. He was excited and optimistic about the future.

“Giovanni must now get to work and he will be looking for much more on Thursday night at home to Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

“It's then away to Livingston in the SPFL Premiership on Sunday afternoon, live on Sky Sports.

“A massive improvement is needed and Giovanni will make a difference. But he can't do it all on his own. The players need to stand up and be counted.”