Here's every word the Rangers manager said in his press conference on Rangers vs Celtic and tomorrow's meeting with Dundee.

Have you had a chance to reflect on Saturday’s defeat?

Yes, of course. We always look back to the game and make a good briefing about everything. I think the main conclusions are that at the beginning of the game we did good things with the ball but some individual players had difficulty in the one-against-ones, were not strong enough in the duels there. We conceded a few chances out of that, not being out of structure but more than in the beginning of the game. We became better after that, winning more duels, we had also chances in the first half. That is an objective thing. All the data from different companies xG was similar to the two teams, there was not much difference. But you go in at half-time with ten, of course, and with a 2-1 result so that makes it much more difficult to get the end result. You can fear that moment that your team breaks against a good opponent, playing with one player less in a stadium that is determined to kill you. That is normal also. In that way, the team showed a lot of resilience. We tried to go for the second goal, we stayed in the game until the last second of the game also. In that way, that is a positive thing. We had to show more quality in one-against-one duels. We know also it is also challenging playing against a Celtic squad who are with all players available and at that moment missing nine players. That is also part of the story of course.

Do you think there is much difference between yourselves and Celtic?

If we are both fully fit, no. No. That is also in the points. Even with two losses and a draw, we have one point more I think in the last six months. No. There is not a big gap. But we need to prove that on the pitch and in the results against each other and in the other games also because it is not just against each other. We need to grab those moments. That is part of top football. If you score the first goal you have another scenario, another dynamic of the game. For sure in this game, it would have been different. We had this chance also to do that, we had two good ones to score the first goal. You need to take that moment, it is our responsibility to do.

Do you think it is a mentality issue, is it the injuries, a combination of things?

Every team in the world, if you have nine players who are possibly starting eleven players who are not available, for every team in the world it is a difficult. I hear the same thing if one or two players of the Celtic team were missing during the season, that it was such a massive thing that they were back. We had nine. We have for tomorrow eleven that are missing. That is for me a major thing that we need to change for next season that these things don’t happen. It is the foundation of the house that we need to make.

Will you look back and think the difference not winning the league was the injuries?

No there will be other things also. It is too easy to only put it there. It is that moment not looking back to where we lost something to somebody else. It is looking back at how we can make things better here. It is going to be a turnaround in the squad also, that is clear with all the contract situations. We are going to work hard on that, we are working hard on that for many months. I see that the recruitment team are really busy finding the good profiles for next season. Now for me this moment is about the last three games and not to only be busy with next season. It is about now, about tomorrow. OK, we miss eleven players, that is true, but we need to make the best with all the players who are available. Several guys who have been working really hard the last couple of months to get chances to play I could not give because the others were doing really well. Now it is their chance to show it.

What do you need to see from the players for them to keep their places within this squad going forward?

I am not going to speak about every individual now. Just about everybody showing the level what they did a few weeks ago also. Don’t make everything now negative because we lost the game and now everything that happened the last couple of months is bad. It is not the case. A few weeks ago all of you guys were saying Rangers has the momentum, Rangers is the best team, Rangers is playing the best football. That was there also in that moment. These players were doing that also. Those players who were doing that, a lot of them are not available.

Have you made final decisions on the out-of-contract players?

I said last week we will make final decisions after these two weeks because it is too crucial to be busy with all those things, making negotiations with players for them. It is now about one thing, about the club and getting the results. Players who are busy with other things and making talks about contracts and everything they cannot have the focus on the result now. It is also a chance now to take also for them to show that they want to be here.

Who are the eleven players who are missing for tomorrow?

I had to write it down because it was too much to keep it in mind. John Souttar will not be available, Connor Goldson not, Leon Balogun not, Dujon Sterling not, John Lundstram not because of suspension, Tom Lawrence not, Oscar Cortes not, Rabbi Matondo not, Abdallah Sima not and Danilo not and Bailey Rice not.

Are any of the new injuries struggling for the cup final?

I don’t think so. I hope next week to recover a few. But of course, if players have been out for a long time I don’t expect miracles also that suddenly they can play 90 minutes. They will be hopefully more players available next week.

What do you say to the fans who have lost belief in this team ahead of the cup final?

That we are going to fight really hard to get a result. It is about margins that you need to take and we need to stay with eleven, of course. That helps also in that way. It is not that the last games we lost 4-0 or 3-0 or whatever. It was small margins. Even with ten at the end, nobody was relaxed in the stadium. We are going to push really hard towards the cup final but also the last two games. We count on the supporters to push really hard and to help the team over the difficult moments like they have been doing brilliantly in the last couple of months. The synergy has come back the last couple of months between the team and the fans. I count on that for this cup final also.

How big a rebuilding job do you have in the summer?

It is going to be a big one because of all the out-of-contracts. And maybe others also. It is going to be quite a rebuild also. You want to keep the foundations of this season, you don’t want to start from zero again. We need to find a good balance in that and doing smart things for now but also for the future of the club to bring profiles in, like Diomande is proving now week after week, that can be assets for the future. We also need to get experience in, if experience is leaving the building. We need to balance.

Are you confident you’ll have the budget to get the quality you need?

We are talking about that, yes. I think every manager if he needs a rebuild he wants more money. I feel like the club know how necessary it is to do that. It’s not only recruitment. In other departments, we need to make good decisions because we can’t have so many injuries. We need to correct these things there.

What needs to change on the injury front?

Several things but those things I prefer to keep in the building and make it better.

Have you spoken with John Lundstram?

Yes but John spoke first to me to say sorry. He knew from the first second. He wanted to go for the ball because we were pressing high. If you can win that ball it can be a one-on-one situation and create a chance. He has gone a split second to late and connects with the foot instead of the ball in that moment. I don’t want to see those tackles from that far. He knows, it’s one of our principles, it’s on the board in the dressing room. Players made mistakes, managers make mistakes and even sometimes journalists! Lunny has been giving a lot and that’s why I said after the game. In the last months was he always the best player? No. Did he have bad games? Yes. But he is giving his best and wants to for the club. He made a mistake and it’s now looking forward.

Will you count on John for the cup final?

I count on everyone, I also need players from the second team. There will be several of those on the bench who are maybe starting tomorrow. I count on everyone in this building until the last second they are here to give the best for the club. If i see they don’t show the mentality they will never be in the selection and I will take a young lad. But I haven’t seen that from one player. That’s what they showed being with 10 men and still digging in. It was so easy to give up in that moment and be punished. 

Have you got the most out of this squad?

It’s not about me, no. I am doing my ultimate best day and night to get the best of everyone in the club. It’s not for me to judge if it was the perfect job or not. Knowing myself it will never be the perfect job because I know I make mistakes and I want to get better. If I make mistakes then next time I want to get better. In October when I first sat down with you guys, to say with three games remaining we would be playing for the title and we'd have won the League Cup and we'd have finished first in our group in Europe, all of these things, you guys would probably have laughed. Now, we've been there, but not far enough. I want to get more trophies with this club, so now it's about making the right conclusions, working hard, making things better and being better [moving forward].  I will always look to improve, and there will always be something [that can improve]. I don't think any good manager in the world would say that he does everything perfect because then you're on the wrong track. 

What lessons will you take forward?

There are sometimes small decisions, but, for sure, the injuries story. Maybe it was better not to wait until the end of the season to make decisions around that, but you also give chances to people. 

Thinking about the next two games?

It's not about preparation for the cup final because the cup final might [involve] other players. I hope to recover. [These next league games] Are going to be about pride, about honour, about quality, about players showing themselves for the team, not for themselves, but for the team. And then it's about taking the three points – it's always about that, about wanting to win games, and giving everything for that altogether. That's what I want to see from these next two games. Only after that can we prepare for the cup final. 

On not starting well and how is it corrected? 

I think the players can make the changes now. It's not something that happens in every game, it didn't happen in the Benfica game, for example, and I still think that the quality of the Benfica team is better than the Celtic squad. So, the players [started well] there, so we know that they can do it. Have we missed some decisive players? In the last game, yes. It's a big list and a lot of quality. You cannot forget that. You can ask players who would normally be second or third choice when you have a full squad to be starters, and then expect them to have the same level as the rest – that's maybe a bridge too far. We touched the ceiling at that moment and you have to work hard to learn how to adapt and become better as a player and a team. 

Would you have changed the lineup in retrospect? 

No. [If I'd changed something] Then something would have been said about other positions also. There are other games that I had a lot of headaches about making the right decisions. This game it was quite clear for everybody what should be the starting 11, and how to get other players in during the game. Of course, there will be always be a question about one or two players, that's always the case. But no, not in general.