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Jack Butland admitted Rangers were punished for two moments of sloppiness as they crashed to a 2-0 home defeat to clinical Roma which left them rock bottom of the Europa League with no points.
Danny Rohl’s men had no answer to first-half goals from Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini on a night when fans again aimed their frustration at sporting director Kevin Thelwell and chief executive Patrick Stewart.
After the Ibrox side suffered a record-breaking seventh straight European defeat, goalkeeper Butland said: ‘Not a good result. The game is decided on a set-play and a sloppy transition moment.
‘We’ve had some chances, they’ve had some but not too much, so it’s decided on those two which we gave away too easy.
‘At this level when you’re playing against top sides, you get punished when you’re not quite at it. On two occasions in the first half, we get punished, then it’s a really difficult task.
‘It’s a situation where everyone’s got a job to do. We try and organise things as best we see fit and have the right people in the right places to give us the best chance.
Jack Butland admitted Rangers gave themselves a mountain to climb after first-half mistakes
Roma were two up at the break and could afford to take their foot off the gas in the second half
Rangers manager Danny Rohl has suffered back-to-back defeats in the Europa League
'I haven’t seen the first one again but it’s perhaps individual [error] or even collective. These are the situations where, if you give teams a leg up like that, it’s very difficult.’
Despite languishing at the foot of the table, Butland remained optimistic that Rohl’s men can still turn things around.
‘We still have every chance [of qualifying],’ he added. ‘I’ve seen crazier things happen. I saw two years ago in more of a group stage phase, us come from third on the last day to win the group.
'Last year we really excelled in Europe and there’s still 12 points to play for. That’s got to be the mindset of the group.’
Manager Rohl told TNT Sports: ‘Not so much in the game, two times they were clinical. Until minute-75, we were in the game. But you need the momentum, to score, to come back.
‘In some moments we were not sharp enough. Second half we found more space and were more flexible. At the moment, this journey, we have to make small steps and our focus is on Sunday to get a third league win in a row.’
Rangers legend Ally McCoist claimed his former club have ‘regressed massively’ and insisted it may take up to three transfer windows to fix their problems.
Analysing for TNT Sports, he said: ‘Roma had at least one more gear in them, maybe two, maybe three.
Summer signings like Youssef Chermiti have yet to get their Rangers careers up and running
‘The worrying thing is that [Rangers] have regressed massively. Have Rangers signed anybody that is better than what they let go?
'I will include [Leon] Balogun the centre-back. You lose [Vaclav] Cerny, [Cyriel] Dessers, 60-plus goals out your team. Forget one window, it might be three windows.
‘It’s not the best window, January, and then you have to balance the books.
‘I like the sound of him [Rohl], he knows the game and I hope he gets the opportunity, but it will take more than one window.’
