Rangers boss Philippe Clement has urged his players to step it up when they face an Aberdeen side he views as title contenders at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
The Ibrox side laboured to victory against St Mirren, with Vaclav Cerny scoring the winner with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Clement admitted his team had been well below their best, especially in the first half as the visitors consistently threatened Jack Butland’s goal.
Rangers now turn their attention to a crunch clash in the Granite City, with Jimmy Thelin’s red-hot Dons sitting level on points with Celtic at the top of the table and six ahead of their midweek visitors.
‘We need to be better than today,’ said Clement, who revealed that John Souttar is in a race to prove his fitness after missing out yesterday.
‘We need to be at the level we were at on Thursday (in the Europa League win over Steaua Bucharest), but it’s a totally different game.
Clement says his Rangers team will need to be better at Pittodrie than they were against St Mirren
Winger Vaclav Cerny celebrates scoring the winning goal in Rangers’ 2-1 victory at Ibrox
Clement will now assess the fitness of his squad ahead of their crunch match against Aberdeen
‘Now it’s about recovering for Wednesday and seeing who is fit and available. It’s important to take these three points when they are well-deserved.
‘They (Aberdeen) have made an exceptional start, if you see the amount of points they have. So it’s going to be a big challenge.
‘It’s the next challenge for this new squad also, to play there for the first time for a lot of players.
‘I know the atmosphere from last season, so it’s a good place to go. We had a really good night there last season and I want to repeat that.’
Pressed on whether he views Aberdeen as title challengers, Clement said: ‘I think they did exceptionally well. If they keep this level all season, then they will be in contention.
‘But I’m focused on Rangers and raising our level month by month and making things better here with the squad.
‘There are still a lot of games between now and the end of the season, so there is a long way to go.’
There was more fan unrest among the Ibrox crowd, with the Union Bears holding up two banners criticising the Rangers board. Supporters had grown audibly frustrated by the time Cerny eventually struck the winner. However, Clement was pleased with his team’s second-half improvement after fielding a starting XI featuring seven summer signings.
He said: ‘The only thing we missed was a third goal in the second half. We were close several times with blocked shots and good saves from their goalkeeper, especially the one from Vaclav’s shot.
‘Then you need to dig in until the last minute, which is what the team did without giving anything away in the last 15 minutes. There were things we can definitely do better. There were good things, there were also moments that it was too slow, too sloppy.
‘We started today with seven players who are new this season at Rangers. Some are not even two months in the building. So, step by step, we try to integrate them in the squad, and to get used to their team-mates, to the club, to the expectations on and off the field. So that’s a work in progress. The second half was much better, with more urgency, more quality on the ball, and a higher tempo and better chances.’
Clement revealed he had no option but to rest Souttar on the advice of the club’s medics and sports scientists.
The Scotland defender has been Rangers’ best centre-back this season, but the Belgian is unsure if he will be fit to face Aberdeen amid a hectic schedule.
Asked about the squad rotation, he said: ‘We play every three days. There’s not one team in the world that have our schedule and play with one player all the games.
‘It can maybe be a centre-back or a goalkeeper but, the rest of the pitch, it’s impossible with the schedule you have now.
‘With John, he couldn’t (play) today. The medical staff and performance staff were really clear about that. If we put him on the pitch, it was a big risk for an injury. Will he be okay for Wednesday? I will see in the next few days.’