Steven Davis urges team-mates to bounce back with Champions League win

Published on Sunday 24 July 2011 14:48

STEVEN Davis has urged Rangers to put their Clydesdale Bank Premier League opener against Hearts behind them by bouncing back with a win over Malmo in the Champions League.

The Scottish champions had hoped to begin the defence of their title with three points - and hand new manager Ally McCoist a win in his first competitive game in charge - but were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Ibrox. However, Rangers will not be able to dwell on the result for too long as they turn their focus to tomorrow night's European qualifier, with Davis refusing to blame rustiness as a result of the early start to the season for their poor opening display.

The midfielder said: "Everybody is in the same boat in terms of the season starting early so we aren't looking at any excuses. It's disappointing from our point of view that we didn't start the season in the way that we would have liked. Hopefully, with each game, the sharpness will come and we will be better and as strong as we know we can be. Hopefully we can get a good result and bounce back against Malmo."

David Obua opened the scoring and Hearts could have added to their tally before Rangers hit back through Steven Naismith. Davis added: "We had to tweak things a bit for the second-half and we came out and played a bit more like we are capable of. We got the goal at a good time in the second half and, from there, I thought we could have gone on and won the game. We started brightly and we had chances and could have taken the lead. But it wasn't to be."

• SPL : Keep up-to-date with your team on Twitter

It was a day of mixed emotions for Davis, who was disappointed with the result but honoured to be handed the captain's armband . He said: "It was a very proud moment for me. I had the armband because Davie (Weir] was suspended today but when he comes back he will be captain again."

As far as McCoist is concerned, the Northern Ireland international was the natural choice to deputise for Weir. The manager said: "It's plain and simple - he plays all the time. He's one of those boys who leads by example."

Hearts manager Jim Jefferies said: "I once came to Ibrox with Hearts and won 3-0 but this was as good a performance as we could have asked for. Allan McGregor also had a couple of great saves for them and I was really pleased with the way we played."