Rangers midfielder Dan Neil has admitted the furious reaction from fans following the Europa League exit is "devastating" but insists the squad can turn around their poor start to the season.
Derek McInnes' side have failed to win in any of their four matches in all competitions so far this season, crashing out of the Europa League and falling five points behind Celtic in the title race. Thursday night's 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok sparked angry scenes at Ibrox.
Neil's Reaction to Fan Fury
Neil, who joined from Sunderland this summer, said: "I think it's a natural thing. We understand there's an expectation to win here and when you're not winning it is going to be like that at the stadium. We have to accept that as Rangers players and do everything we can to turn that around."
He added: "I've heard so many people that have been here for a while saying when we're winning it's the best place to be in the world and there's no place like it and that's got to be our motivation every day to try and turn it around and make it the best place to play in the world."
Devastating Start
The midfielder acknowledged the pain of the supporters: "It's devastating for the players to see the reaction, but we also understand the objectives here and what's expected. We understand that it's fallen below that in the first four games, but I think it's important that as a club we stick together because we do have a good group of players in there - a group of players that are going to do everything to try and turn around the bad start that we've had."
Neil insisted it is still early days: "It's just a start, it's a very long season. Like I said, we're going to do everything to try and put it right and get that crowd behind us and start building momentum."
Counter-Attack Weakness
McInnes blasted his team for allowing the Poles to sweep the length of the pitch to score the second-leg equaliser after Lawrence Shankland's penalty opener. That counter-attack was a repeat of the two sucker punches Jagiellonia landed in last week's opening clash.
Neil admitted his side are leaving themselves too open: "We had a full belief going into the game that we'd get the result we wanted and I think for 45 minutes we did that and I think we showed it. We were really all out, just trying to get the crowd behind us and build momentum. I felt like we did that in the first half, but we just didn't manage to keep it going in the second half and allowed them back into the game."
He added: "Then another bad counter-attack goal, which has been our kryptonite over the last four games, cost us again. Why is that? I think new faces, new shapes, new formations. It's something that we clearly need to work on."
Leadership and Next Steps
Neil, who captained Sunderland to Premier League promotion, has been named deputy to new skipper Shankland. He said: "It's not just about Shanks being captain or me being vice-captain. We've made a real effort to try and have a team full of captains and everybody has a voice. Everybody leads in a different way, whether it's being vocal or setting an example every single day and we're going to keep working on that and bringing out people's leadership qualities."
He revealed the dressing room reaction: "Everybody had a bit to say in the changing room after and everyone's taken accountability for what's been happening so far this season and I think it's a sign of a good group when people put their hands up and speak and say what they feel is going wrong. I've been in plenty of dressing rooms where that doesn't happen, where there's a lot of talking behind backs and things like that. But we are all one in there and everyone's going to say what they think to each other. Everyone respects each other's views, even if there are arguments. We turn up tomorrow for training and we try and put things right."
Rangers next face St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup opener on Sunday.
