Michael Beale has admitted Cyriel Dessers has struggled in the early stages of his Rangers career.
The striker - signed for in the region of £4.5m in the summer - has netted just three goals in 13 outings for the Ibrox side.
And the Nigeria international faced criticism from Rangers supporters as Beale's side toiled to a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen at Ibrox.
Ferocious boos were heard at full-time from the supporters who remained inside the stadium come full time, but particular frustration was evident over Dessers showing.
Beale addressed the matter in his post-match press conference admitting the striker has endured a tough time but cited his previous scoring feats as he insisted he will come good.
"Cyriel is not living in the best moment of his career," admitted Beale.
"He's twice been the top scorer in Eredivisie and he was top scorer in the Europa Conference League when he was at Feyenoord so he has scored throughout his career.
"[But] He has come in and he’s found it difficult in the first part of the season.
"I’m sure given time Cyriel is going to show his quality but it’s fair at this moment in time that he is probably below the level he’d like to be."
On the furious fan reaction, Beale added that the discontent has grown far quicker than he could have imagined.
He said: "Listen it’s a situation that’s escalated much faster than I thought."
Beale added: "I think that they [supporters] could help one or two of the players but one or two of the players in the team have certainly got to help themselves."
