Union Saint-Gilloise boss Karel Geraerts has ripped into his players following a shock defeat at Mechelen. Fresh from turning Rangers over in Champions League qualifying in midweek, the Belgians went down 3-0 away from home in their third league fixture of the new season on Saturday.
Geraerts made three changes to the side that saw off Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's men on Tuesday but watched on in horror as goals from Rob Schoofs, Lazare Amani and Julien Ngoy brought Union crashing back to earth. The manager admitted the result came as a "small uppercut", one that leaves his team with just one win from their opening three Pro League outings.
And a "disappointed and angry" Geraerts insists Union simply must be better when they face Rangers again in the third round qualifying second leg at Ibrox on Tuesday. He said: "I am disappointed and angry. I didn't see the Union I wanted to see. Our values have stayed in the locker rooms and that's not good.
"A lot of energy was put into this match. Unfortunately it wasn't enough. I'm especially angry. Now it's up to the players and also myself to think. We are going to analyse everything correctly. I've changed my squad in three places, that doesn't mean everything has to go away.
"I came to Mechelen to win. If you start rotating and you bring in three-four other players, you know you're missing automatisms. the players don't throw a stone in that area. They did their best.
"This 3-0 is a small uppercut. We have to draw the right conclusions from that. Then this is possible to help us in the preparation on Tuesday. We have barely two days to prepare. Everyone will be eager to play that match, but it will have to be different."
