Sunday feels like one of those results that’ll linger. You could see it coming straight after the final whistle — not just anger at the scoreline, but the sense that we’d missed a chance to put real daylight between us and our rivals. The context matters. We were at home with 45,000 behind us, likely a full-strength XI, penalties in front of our crowd. They came to the game shorn of key players, including their captain, and with a keeper making one of his biggest appearances. That’s why this one hurts so much.
All the little edges were ours
When you add up the marginal gains — home support, familiarity, crowd pressure on spot-kicks — you expect the bounce to go our way. Fans are used to swings in football, but this felt different. It wasn’t a one-off bad day; it was a missed opportunity in front of the people who matter most. The noise at Ibrox wasn’t enough to carry us over what should have been a test we passed.
Why this feels more damaging
A league defeat hurts, sure. But this felt like handing them momentum. With the run-in stretching ahead, confidence is currency. We’ve given our neighbours a glimmer when they needed to be worrying about morale. That’s what I mean by more damaging — not the result alone, but the timing and the psychological swing. You can forgive the odd mistake; you can’t forgive missing the sorts of chances a heavy home crowd helps create.
Where does that leave DR and the squad?
I voted for DR to stay, and I’m still willing to back him — but backing needs to come with results. We have nine games left. That’s not a huge sample, but it’s enough to show intent. The manager must tighten things up, get players to show more steel, and turn this group into the kind of side that takes care of business when everything’s stacked in our favour. And as for the captain saying "we will learn from this" — fair enough, but words only carry so far. The next few weeks need to be about action, not platitudes.
To be fair, I still believe in the squad. But this one will leave a bitter taste unless it sparks a proper response.
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