Rangers manager Steven Gerrard expects to see an instant reaction from his players following their latest Hampden disappointment.
Gerrard’s revival of Rangers suffered a major setback on Sunday when they lost 1-0 against Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup semi-finals.
It was a fifth consecutive semi-final defeat without finding the net for Rangers and Gerrard admitted there was a “serious lack of quality” in the final third.
The former Liverpool captain was blunt in his challenge to his players, stating that some might not get another chance at Hampden for his team.
And he wants to see evidence that they are hurting and eager to atone when they host second-placed Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Wednesday night.
“We’ll do what we do, nothing changes,” Gerrard told Rangers TV.
“We’ll try and recover, we will analyse, debrief and besides that we hope some players self-reflect and we get a reaction. That’s what you have to do.
“But this one will be tough to move on from straight away because of the stage, because of the opportunity that’s gone by.
“If you’ve got anything about you it should hurt for a little while and in the coming performances you should take that frustration out on them.”
Gerrard vowed to find better players in the final third if those who failed to find the net against the Dons do not improve.
But he admitted personal regrets after top goalscorer Alfredo Morelos was ruled out of the Hampden trip along with the cup-tied Kyle Lafferty after being sent off in the quarter-final.
“I probably wouldn’t have played Morelos against Ayr United,” he said. “That’s one regret that’s swirling round in my head right now. So I’ll learn from that.
“Listen, I’ll take responsibility for this performance. I picked the players, I picked the game plan, I signed a lot of the players. So if anyone wants to point any fingers, throw them my way.”
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