Steven Davis confesses Rangers in ‘a difficult place’ as interim boss struggles to find positives from Aris Limassol defeat

Steven Davis admits Rangers are in “a difficult place” as the interim manager’s dugout debut ended in a 2-1 defeat to Cypriot champions Aris Limassol in the Europa League.

The frustrated Northern Irishman - placed in temporary charge alongside Alex Rae following Michael Beale’s dismissal at the weekend - insists the squad are “hurting” after a painful night in Cyprus left them sitting in third spot in Group C.

Travelling fans vented their anger once more towards the players at the full-time whistle after failing to rescue a share of the spoils which compounded a miserable week for the Ibrox club.

Abdallah Sima had given the visitors a second half lifeline after Alex Moucketou-Moussounda and Shavy Babicka netted the crucial goals for Aris.

Davis told Rangers TV: “Obviously the dressing room is hurting. We thought this was an opportunity to come here and get some points. We haven’t managed to do that. We caused a lot of our own problems tonight.

“The two goals we concede are really poor and give us a mountain to climb but the boys kept trying to go and I couldn’t fault them from that perspective but they lacked a wee bit of quality at times. You want to settle into the game early on, especially away from home. But after that (early goal) it gives you a lot of work to do.

“I thought we started the second half reasonably well, but ultimately we gave away a bad second goal and then you’re really up against it. There’s not many positives to take from it. It’s a difficult place to be at the moment, but in terms of the effort from the players I couldn’t ask any more.

“First and foremost, we just have to continue with the basics, work hard and fight for each other. It’s important we stay together at this moment and eventually things will turn. It’s a quick turnaround now before Sunday, so it’s important we get over this one pretty quickly.”