Awesome April has got off to an atrocious start but Gio van Bronckhorst has urged Rangers to keep pushing as they gear up for the rest of a momentous month ahead.
Gers entered spring with dreams of completing a remarkable Premiership, Scottish Cup and Europa League treble.
But the first of those trophy targets now looks lost after the champions failed to get the result they needed on their date with league destiny at Ibrox.
There remains, however, some major occasions on the calendar, starting with Thursday’s trip to Portugal as Van Bronckhorst’s side eye up the club’s first European semi-final since 2008.
A rematch with Ange Postecoglou ’s Hoops also awaits at Hampden in the Scottish Cup three days after their second-leg showdown with Braga on April 14.
And Van Bronckhorst had told a group of players who looked crestfallen as the final whistle blew on Sunday's devastating 2-1 loss to get back on their feet and make the most of this season’s remaining challenges.
“We need to keep on going,” stressed the Dutchman. "The emotions in football are highs and lows. Any football player will feel that, the days when you are very disappointed in the result.
“But there is still a lot to play for. Take this loss and disappointment, recover and be ready again on Thursday for Braga. It’s another big game and we have to prepare well.
“You feel disappointment but you have to stand up. Of course, a loss in an Old Firm game is always very disappointing but we have to keep going.
“It’s almost the end of the season with a lot of games to be played in a lot of competitions. So we have to prepare and that’s all we will do.”
The Ibrox faithful fell silent as Willie Collum called time on their second derby defeat in a row.
But it was hardly out of shock.
This is a result that has been coming for some time.
While Gers have performed heroically in the Europa League to get past Borussia Dortmund and Red Star Belgrade, their domestic displays have rarely hit the same heights since suffering yet another mid-season collapse.
From six points ahead when they returned from the winter break, Gers are set to surrender the crown they’d dreamed of for a decade after slumping six behind with six games to play.
“It was a game we had to win,” admitted Van Bronckhorst after seeing the Hoops respond to Aaron Ramsey’s third-minute opener with first half goals from Tom Rogic and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
“In the end, when we don’t win it, then it’s a big disappointment for us.”
Asked to explain to the fans how his side had allowed that 12-point swing, the former Feyenoord coach replied tersely: “They watch the games, no?
“They watch the games and saw what happened in those games.
“We didn’t take the chances we had. We had some decisions not go in our favour and then in the end, when you draw and lose points, you don’t take the chances you get.
“That’s why we lost a lot of points which was unnecessary I think.
“If you keep losing points like that then you are trailing Celtic now by six points.
“Those are the facts and we cannot change them.”
Gers started out intent on chasing down their bitter rivals and that early pressure paid off as Gers won possession deep in Celtic territory.
Calvin Bassey slotted Ryan Kent in behind the visitors' defence and Ramsey showed all his class with a tidy first-time finish to put the champions ahead.
But Bassey’s failure to halt Callum McGregor bursting into the box saw Celtic score with their first attack as Rogic rammed home a rebound from Allan McGregor’s save.
Another defensive blunder gave the league leaders the goal which now puts them within touching distance of a 10th title in 11 years after Leon Balogun and John Lundstram failed to clear a Celtic free-kick before Carter-Vickers smashed home.
Gers laid siege to Joe Hart’s box after the break but there was no way back.
Van Bronckhorst said: “I think we pressed really high, all over the pitch. I think it was better in the second half. We pushed more forward.
“Celtic are always dangerous in transitions so we took a little bit of a risk. The second half we played almost the whole game in their half and trying to push for the second goal, which eventually didn’t fall.
“I think the way we gave these goals away shouldn’t happen but it happened a lot of times, too many times for us in the last couple of months in games. That cost us some very important points.”
Rangers were without top scorer Alfredo Morelos but Van Bronckhorst refused to blame the Colombian’s absence for the result.
He said: “It was just the way we had to handle it. He wasn’t here. I don’t want to find any excuses.
“He wasn’t available, Hagi wasn’t available. There are no excuses in football.
“There are not excuses for Rangers or me as to why we lost today. I don’t want to find excuses, I just want to play as good as we can with the players we have available.
“That is my job and that is my task. Of course we are very disappointed that he is not here, that is a different story. Of course we want Morelos to be involved but he isn’t and that is a fact.”
