Ross Laidlaw felt Ross County made life too easy for Rangers until the second half in their 2-0 defeat at Victoria Park.
The Staggies fell behind to two goals within a four-minute period from Kemar Roofe and James Tavernier, and were unable to find a way back into the game.
Goalkeeper Laidlaw was more encouraged by his side’s second half showing, but was frustrated it came too little, too late.
He said: “I think we probably showed Rangers too much respect.
“I know they had a tough game through the week, but we probably sat off them a bit.
“In the second half, the manager told us to go man for man, and high press them. It did work a bit more, we had a few chances, but Rangers deserved to win.
“There are positives for us to take from the second half performance.
“I thought we did well to stay in the game. When you go 2-0 down, you can easily concede three or four.
“It has not hit the goal difference too badly. We just need to move on – as the manager says we need to get results against the teams around us.
“It’s a huge one away to Kilmarnock next week.”
Frustrations in build up to goals despite Gers’ excellent finishing
Both Rangers goals were excellent finishes, although Laidlaw pinpointed frustrations in the build up to each of them.
He added: “We were disappointed it was a set-piece for the first goal. Jimmy Brown was saying he was pulled back a wee bit.
“For the second one, we were in possession and gave the ball away.
“But there are times when you have got no chance.
“I don’t think any goalkeeper in the world is saving that – it’s an unbelievable strike.
“I thought it was going over the bar, and then at the last second it dipped in.
“It’s one of these things that happens, and we just need to move on from it.
“When you come up against quality players, they can punish you in these moments.”
Laidlaw eager for Staggies to kick on
County have three points on board from their opening three matches, and face a Viaplay Cup quarter-final tie at home to Aberdeen next month.
Laidlaw has been encouraged with his side’s start, but says they must start backing it up with more points in the coming weeks.
The 31-year-old added: “Last year we had a bad start and we were playing catch up for a lot of the season.
“We have kept the spine of our team for this season, and we are hoping to build on it again.
“We have got the international break after Kilmarnock.
“We are hoping to get points on the road down there. We know it’s going to be really hard on another astroturf surface.
“It will be really hard down there, but it’s just about getting as many points on the board as early as possible.
“We saw it last season when we were chasing points late on, and they became huge games near the end of the season.
“Hopefully we can be in a position where we are not chasing teams, and we’ve got a decent points gap on the teams below us.”
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