Graeme Murty expecting Rangers to be '˜written off'

Despite suffering two straight defeats in the Ladbrokes Premiership and still unsure of who their new manager is going to be, Rangers interim boss Graeme Murty has full confidence in his players to keep their minds focused when St Johnstone come to Ibrox next Wednesday.

Interim Rangers manager Graeme Murty watched on as his side lost 2-1 to Inverness CT. Picture: SNS

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Murty watched on as Rangers lost 2-1 away from home for the second consecutive weekend, as a late Billy Mckay overhead kick gave Inverness CT their first victory in the league since late October.

The visitors hauled themselves level midway through the second half after Martyn Waghorn converted from the penalty spot, cancelling out Greg Tansey’s opener in first-half stoppage time.

It was a familiar story for the Light Blues as they failed to take chances to win the match and, instead, suffered defeat when Mckay produced a superb piece of magic only moments after Iain Vigurs had missed a penalty for the hosts.

With no new manager in sight and pressure intensifying on a playing squad low on confidence, Murty says he expects the club to be written off against St Johnstone. But he insists the players will come out ready to play despite the latest setback.

He told BT Sport: “It’s very difficult to take. The players are very down. They did the things we wanted them to do with the ball. We created lots of chances, opened them up. In Emerson Hyndman and Jon Toral, I thought we had two of the better players on the pitch. But we need to be clinical in both boxes. We weren’t and we were punished for it.

“I try to pick the players and myself up and make sure the team are fully focused again. I have no doubt that people will be writing us off again, writing loads of stuff in the media, which they’re welcomed to, but it’s about us making sure that when we step out on the pitch we’re ready to go.”

Asked whether he’d make up a decision about his future, Murty said he was too “raw” to give a definitive answer in the heat of the moment, though he’ll continue to stay in the role as long as the board ask him to.

He said: “I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing until the board tell me any different. The players need stability. They need something to hang their hat on. As long as I’m asked I’ll keep doing the job I’m doing.

Asked if the defeat showed how important stability was, Murty added: “I don’t think so. If you look at the way they approached the game today and the second half against Dundee, they have talent and it’s just about them making sure that when they cross the white line they are incredibly focused. And I thought they were incredibly focused today. I could see it in the warm-up.”