Giovanni van Bronckhorst rarely allows emotion to carry him too high or low and his press conferences normally reflect that fact.

Having captained his country in a World Cup final and won football’s biggest domestic prizes, he appears comfortable under pressure.

But last night in the Ibrox press room seemed slightly different. With Rangers leaving the pitch to a chorus of boos, patience is evidently running thin amongst supporters after one too many laborious performances. What’s more, van Bronckhorst seemed to agree with their interpretation of a scrappy, unconvincing 1-0 win against Dundee.

“They are right. I wasn't happy either. When you play well you get the applause but when you don't play well at a club like Rangers they should boo you.”

“We need to know and feel that the performance in the last half hour is not good enough and we need to improve. Tomorrow we need to analyse the game and speak to the players who underperformed and make sure it doesn't happen again on Saturday.”

Kevin Thomson called the win last night "painful" speaking on Premier Sports. The fact the visiting manager’s main takeaway was disappointment at his side’s inability to have had “a little bit more of a go” contextualises the evening perfectly.

Within the context of recent games, on the back of a further underwhelming domestic victory at the weekend, van Bronckhorst needed much more from his players. On the surface, he has taken his team to Hampden and remains just two points off the top of the league but under the bonnet, the current trends continue to look far less healthy.

The day after he reaffirmed his desire to play attacking, front-foot football, the product failed to line up with what it says on the tin. When people are not being entertained and heavy defeats remain just weeks in the rearview mirror such a reaction is to be expected. Only evidence that improvement is coming will ease criticism and yesterday’s game did anything but shift the dial in that direction. 

Rangers Review:

Ridvan Yilmaz was one positive on a night otherwise littered with complaints. He demonstrated a modern interpretation of the full-back role and contributed consistently in first-half spells of possession. Making an impact with his off-ball runs and penetrating movement. Kemar Roofe too was sharp and intentional on his return from injury but that aside any smidgins of positivity were scarce.

As the Rangers Review wrote recently when discussing the evaluation of a transfer market, it’s difficult to argue that the money spent this summer has addressed areas of need.

The midfield last night lacked the legs to retain pressure against a Dundee side who passed out with ease. They were able to get up the pitch consistently and much like a recent tie with city rivals Dundee United, Ibrox was a misplaced pass or second ball away from boiling over.

“The lads will get a lot of plaudits,” travelling manager Gary Bowyer said after the game.

“Me personally, I thought we could have got a little bit more and had a go. We had some opportunities to counter and could’ve done better. We’re slightly disappointed to not have tested the goalkeeper more. I wanted a little bit more.”

In the most basic of terms, Dundee were too comfortable as a Championship team coming to Ibrox, playing against a Rangers 11 that featured a number of first-team regulars. That seemed a tipping point for van Bronckhorst who has rarely been as publicity critical as he was last night.

“You have to be honest and see when the performances aren’t well that things have to improve,” he said, acknowledging the reality of recent showings before insisting the good days can come under his premiership.

“We want to bring success back to the club, we want to win trophies. I had the worst spell as a manager at Feyenoord when we lost seven games in a row. After that, we won five titles in three years.

“I want to bring those moments back. That’s my aim – for us it’s a habit to win trophies.”

It’s said that acceptance is the starting point of recovery and that is what Rangers must do. They may be on the back of five domestic wins but simply cannot afford many, if any, more performances like last night. Regardless of the result.