SCOTT WRIGHT has accepted that Rangers were off the pace against Dundee in the Premier Sports Cup, but the midfielder is confident that he and his teammates can begin to shine both domestically and in Europe.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were booed off the park despite booking their spot in the last four of the League Cup by defeating Gary Bowyer’s Dens Park outfit.
Steven Davis’ goal was the difference, but it was far from a vintage display by Rangers and Dundee had chances to keep their cup dreams alive.
Slack passing, defensive slip-ups and lack of urgency were apparent in the Ibrox performance and Wright fully understood the frustration from the stands at full-time.
He explained: "Absolutely, I completely understand where the fans are coming from. The standards we set as a team, not just the fans.
“They obviously set a standard for us but we set standards within the club ourselves and we know we haven't really been hitting them as of yet. But the most important thing is we know we can give more.
"It is going to be patient and it is the sake of us trying to keep building on what we are trying to do and we know the fans are going to stick with us.
“They set the standard and it is important that we double down on what we believe in, stick to the beliefs within the club and we stick together as a team on the pitch."
Rangers suffered a heavy defeat to Celtic at the start of September and then fell to similar losses in the Champions League against Ajax, Napoli and Liverpool.
Van Bronckhorst’s team have managed to battle their way back into the title race domestically by picking up victories in all of their matches since the derby day defeat, but performances have failed to hit the aforementioned standards.
Wright admits things have to improve if Rangers are to win silverware this term on the domestic front.
He continued: “As I said, it is a case of us just going away, see what's going wrong and trying to build on it.
"The exciting thing is we know we can be better and as I said the standards set within the club, we know we can hit them and there is more to get from this team.
“Obviously the manager will speak in the changing room. We have the leadership to lead that as well.
“We’ll go in and look at the film tomorrow and break down the game to see where we are going right, but more importantly where we are going wrong.
“We know we can be better as a team. It’s about looking at those weaknesses that we had in this game and making sure they don’t happen again.
“There is always pressure at a club like this. It’s why you want to be at a club like this. It means you are fighting for competitions, cups and leagues.
“What we achieved last year is done now. No one speaks about that in the changing room. It’s about trying to build each week on what we’re trying to do.
“We’re in the League Cup semi-final, we’re quite high in the league. It’s about trying to build on that. I know our performances haven’t been there. We know that as a team.
“We can take the positives of getting results and seeing games out. It’s not as convincing as we’d want it to be, but the most important thing is getting points or through to the next round of the cup.”
Asked if the heavy defeats in Europe had damaged confidence within the Rangers squad, Wright responded: “Not totally. It was important for us to get there. I think it was the next step for us as a team.
“What we achieved in the Europa League last season was fantastic and we all wanted to test ourselves in the Champions League this year. I think we did fantastic to get there.
“Obviously, once we did it wasn’t a case of just being happy to be in the Champions League. We want to go, fight and show we deserve to belong.
“It’s going to take time. The quality of the group we are in is absolutely fantastic so it’s going to take a little bit of time to get used to.
“But it’s something we want to fix and we’ve games to do that as well.”
By booking their spot in the final four of the League Cup, Rangers set up a semi-final date with Wright’s former side Aberdeen.
Jim Goodwin’s side cemented their spot in the Hampden showdown by defeating Partick Thistle 4-1 at Pittodrie and Wright is excited to go up against some familiar faces.
He added: "I just seen the draw. It was exciting just to get in the hat, that's what was important for us, just to get the job done and get in the hat.
"Now we can park the cup and build on the performances we have had in the league.
“It is a case of playing the game and not the occasion. It is great to be back at Hampden, it is important for us as a team and we have done that.
"I have had a wee spell out the team and it was important for me to go out there to show the manger what I am about.
"I have been working hard in training every day and it is a case of just being ready when called upon.
"There is such good competition within this
