Philippe Clement says Rangers will have to “dig in” as they look to shrug off their Old Trafford frustrations against Dundee United on Sunday.
A late winner by Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes on Thursday night gave the Premier League side a 2-1 Europa League victory, although the Light Blues still secured a play-off spot at least ahead of their final league phase fixture against Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox next week.
Gers boss Clement was hamstrung with suspension, injuries and ineligible players while Leon Balogun, Connor Barron and Vaclav Cerny all had to come off with the Govan side ending the evening with 18-year-old academy graduates Findlay Curtis and Bailey Rice on the park and players out of position.
Clement will assess his options ahead of the William Hill Premiership trip to Tannadice, where second-placed Rangers look to improve on poor away form in the league, having won only three from 11 on their travels.
He told RangersTV: “For the players it was very mixed feelings, they are gutted to lose at the end of the game.
“They came back and showed a great mentality, but I am very proud of what the team has done.
“In the organisation, in the structure, players playing out of position, several of them are young guys coming in and giving everything.
“We created chances after going behind, you can’t ask more from them and they put in a great effort, and it is a pity we never got our rewards. It would have given them a totally different feeling.
“I was disappointed by the result, but I can’t ask for more effort.
“We need to dig in and prepare for Sunday against Dundee United, that’s the focus now.”
Clement was pleased to see his young players gaining invaluable experience in such a high-level fixture as he praised the unity within the club.
He said: “The young players feel positive with the chances they get.
“They get a lot of support from the staff as well as the senior players.
“You see this is a group that sticks together in all circumstances.
“It is easy to go behind 1-0 to Manchester United and to lose belief when you have so many young players on the pitch who don’t have experience at this level.
“We kept going and scored a very good goal, it was a great finish from Cyriel (Dessers), but it is a pity we got a sucker punch at the end as the team deserved more and a draw would have been a fair result.”
