Rangers manager Derek McInnes admitted his side were not good enough after being eliminated from the Europa League by Jagiellonia Bialystok following a 1-1 draw at Ibrox on Thursday night.
The Scottish Premiership side lost 3-2 on aggregate against their Polish opponents, leaving McInnes winless after his first four matches in charge as the early-season crisis at the club deepened.
Seeking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Poland last week, Rangers took a first-half lead when striker Lawrence Shankland converted a penalty to level the tie on aggregate.
However, Jagiellonia forward Nik Prelec headed in an equaliser for the visitors midway through the second half, restoring the Polish team's aggregate advantage and condemning Rangers to defeat.
McInnes altered his tactics during the interval, taking off midfielder Thelo Aasgaard at half-time and switching from an initial back three to a four-man defence. The Rangers manager insisted the substitution was a purely tactical decision caused by Aasgaard's lack of involvement, although his side appeared worse following the adjustment.
Speaking after the match, McInnes acknowledged that neither he nor his players could offer any excuses for failing to progress in Europe.
"This club is built for the Europa League and Champions League," McInnes said. "That's obviously the intention, to get there. But I'm not sure the team is quite ready for it at the moment."
"It pains me to say that, to be honest. It does. We need to get more quality. We need to try and get more confidence into the team. This wasn't an outcome that we wanted," he added.
"We have to try and get things moving the right way quickly. There's no two ways about it. We should be winning this game. I think Jagiellonia are a decent team and I think they've got some good players, and I think they're well coached. But Rangers at their best, Rangers, as strong as they can be, should be winning this tie."
Ibrox Supporters Voice Anger
The atmosphere inside Ibrox at the final whistle turned hostile, with sections of the home crowd venting their anger towards the manager and his misfiring squad. The vitriolic reaction from supporters mirrored the tense environment experienced at the stadium this time last year during the tenure of former manager Russell Martin.
When asked about the angry reaction from the fans at full-time, McInnes accepted the criticism from the stands as fair.
"I think it was justified to be honest. It wasn't good enough. What we served up throughout the second half wasn't good enough," McInnes said. "We've got to be honest with that, we've got to own it. It wasn't good enough over the 90 minutes."
Transfer Activity and Upcoming Matches
Amid the disappointment on the pitch, Rangers are understood to have agreed a loan deal to sign left-back James Penrice from Greek side AEK Athens, with an option to make the transfer permanent next summer.
Rangers, founded in 1872 and based at the 50,000-capacity Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, are one of Scottish football's traditional powers. European qualification forms a central part of the club's financial and sporting expectations each season.
Following their exit from Europa League qualification, Rangers now drop into the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off round, where they will face Czech Republic outfit FK Jablonec.
McInnes faces an immediate test on Sunday afternoon when Rangers host St Mirren at Ibrox in a must-win League Cup tie as he seeks to record his first victory since taking charge.
