Kenny Miller insists there can be no blame attached to Michael Beale in Rangers' latest defeat to Celtic.
The former Ibrox striker believes the boss got his tactics spot on despite the 3-2 loss to their arch-Glasgow rivals.
James Tavernier netted a deadly double in the east end of the city on Saturday lunchtime, but it was not enough to claim anything from the game as Kyogo and Jota scored to seal victory for Ange Postecoglou's men.
But Miller reckons by looking at the bigger picture, there were obvious signs of hope for Rangers in Saturday's game, especially with the Scottish Cup semi-final on the horizon.
He wrote in his Daily Record column: "Michael Beale’s overriding feeling on Sunday morning won’t be disappointed at losing Saturday's Old Firm derby.
"It will be one of frustration. Because he’ll know that was an opportunity lost for his team against Celtic. That’s the best I’ve seen Rangers play against Ange Postecoglou’s side under Michael, certainly off the ball.
"They put them under pressure yesterday and had a really disciplined, compact shape. At times defensively, they still dropped a bit too deep.
"You could see the manager urging them to get up the pitch. They had to be brave and for most of the game, they were.
"Michael’s system forced Celtic into errors and trying to play over the top. So there were a lot of positives in that respect. And that discipline was there pretty much for the full 90 minutes.
"This Celtic team under Ange have usually had it all their own way. Think of the League Cup Final, where Celtic had real control.
"Yesterday, Rangers limited that with their shape. Michael’s tactics stifled them. On the ball, they could have been better. On paper, it looked like a team full of good footballers, so I expected a bit more.
"But they created chances and big moments. That hasn’t always been the case in this fixture recently. Unfortunately, Rangers didn’t take theirs.
"A lot of the chat before this game was about, could Rangers handle going there? It was supposedly going to be all Celtic. But I think they did handle the environment.
"I can only talk positively to a certain extent when you’ve lost an Old Firm game. But irrespective of the result, the league was still gone.
"So I’m trying to look at the bigger picture. And there are definitely positives Rangers can take into the Scottish Cup semi-final in three weeks' time. There won’t be 60,000 Celtic fans that day.
"And I was hugely encouraged by the performance of someone like Nico Raskin yesterday. I thought he was excellent.
"I was also impressed by James Tavernier. That was a captain’s performance. What a moment he delivered when Rangers needed him to step up with the free-kick.
"That was top-level quality. If that had been a Man City or Liverpool player who’d done that we’d be talking about it for a long time. At that moment, to put it in the postage stamp with such accuracy and beat a keeper of Joe Hart’s ability, was fantastic.
"They went toe-to-toe with Ange’s side in a hostile atmosphere with no fans behind them. They made chances. And let’s be honest, a really soft decision went against them when Kevin Clancy ruled out Morelos’ goal in the first half.
"Had the ref not given a free-kick VAR wouldn’t have overturned it. That was really harsh on Rangers. But you can’t legislate for individual errors at Celtic’s goals.
"Michael would have been tearing his hair out on the sideline. He’s getting judged on these mistakes. People will be saying he’s now gone three games and can’t get the better of Ange.
"But that’s not Michael's fault. He trusts his players to make good decisions at the right moments. But for those two goals, they didn’t do that.
"His players gave a lot to that game yesterday and didn’t deserve to lose it.
"But they were punished for mistakes. When Celtic made errors, Rangers didn’t do that. That was the big difference."
