Rangers captain James Tavernier has finally spoken out about the intense backlash from supporters following their crushing 3-0 defeat to arch-rivals Celtic.
Since that bruising loss, Rangers have bounced back with victories over Dundee United in the Premiership and Dundee in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final, as well as putting on a strong show against Malmo in the Europa League.
However, the setback against Brendan Rodgers' squad has left Rangers lagging five points behind in the title chase.
The fallout from the derby disaster has seen fans venting their fury, with much of it aimed at Tavernier himself. In an interview with TNT Sports after the 2-0 triumph in Sweden, Tavernier attempted to put the past controversies to rest.
When quizzed about whether he felt "bruised" by the fan reaction post-Celtic match and "some of the things he had to endure" the skipper seemed initially taken aback by the question, especially after a European win. Tavernier then said: "It's part and parcel.
"I am at the front, as captain. I've got to take the criticism and obviously when we are doing well we take the good things out of it as well.
"No. I'm a strong character and I can always continue no matter what comes my way. The fans obviously showed great support. As a team, we just have to move in the right direction and keep pushing forward."
Meanwhile, boss Philippe Clement fumed at not being allowed to utilise striker Hamza Igamane as a result of a 'passport issue'.
"I am clearly not happy with that, there were issues with his passport," he said. "Those are situations that you don't want to face as a manager but I want to focus on the football and the good things of this day."
Rangers spurned several chances to increase their lead, prompting further woes that Igamane was not able to be called upon.
"It could have been perfection if we scored the three goals in the first half that we deserved, so we need to finish it off in that way," Clement added. "It's not errors, its part of football and I see the best players in the world not scoring with every chance.
"It's important that we create them and that the players are focused. We will keep working on that to make the quality better in our squad and to be more decisive. I think it was a good example with our second goal.
"A few months ago he (Ross McCausland) didn't have power or quality to shoot with his left foot but he has been working every day to improve that with the staff. And because he did that he scored this very important goal."
