STEVEN HAMMELL insists Rangers should have been reduced to ten men as Motherwell came up short at Fir Park on Sunday.
The Steelmen were left with nothing to show for their efforts as a late Stuart McKinstry free-kick ultimately counted for nothing against Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.
McKinstry saw his speculative strike loop over the head over Allan McGregor and find the far corner of the net to reduce Motherwell's arrears.
But it was a late challenge from Leon King on the 20-year-old that irked Hammell most as referee David Dickinson ruled only a yellow card was required.
It was to prove a frustrating afternoon all round for the Fir Park boss as defender Rickie Lamie was forced off earlier in the second period.
Hammell said: "I think it's a red card. Not for where it is on the pitch and where Stuart's going to - that's up for debate - but for the actual tackle in isolation.
"It's poor, he catches him high and there's a lot of force in it. I think Stuart's lucky not to come away with an injury on the back of it.
"It's not something we are going to be overly concerned about but in my opinion, it's a poor tackle.
"It's up for debate. Maybe where it is on the pitch and where Stuart is running to, going into a goalscoring area, that's up for debate.
"The actual tackle, in isolation, no matter where that is on the pitch, it's a poor tackle.
"Rickie's okay, it's an impact on his ribs. We'll assess it. It's the last thing we need.
"We couldn't even fill the bench and forward-wise and attacking-wise we were very limited with our options. We need these players, we have a thin squad, we have a lot of starters and quality missing."
Motherwell were unable to capitalise on a lack of confidence within the Rangers camp as they returned to winning ways after their Champions League loss to Liverpool.
The Steelmen caused McGregor no issues at all in a low-key first half and the free-kick from McKinstry was a case of too little too late for Hammell's side.
A terrific solo effort from Malik Tillman, as the midfielder ran half the lengthy of the park and finished well, and a John Lundstram header won it for Rangers.
Hammell said: "It's frustration and disappointment. I think we put a lot into the game but again, the goals we concede aren't good enough. They are too cheap.
"Big moments in the game, fine details lose matches at this level. It's something we need to get better at quickly.
"You don't need to be an expert or a professional to see where the problems are with that. It's not something that needs overly coached, but we highlighted all week in transition.
"It's a tactical foul, that's all it is and it is quickly dealt with and move on. From our point of view, it's nowhere near good enough.
"If you're going to defend like that, you're going to get punished. Attention to detail is nowhere near where it should be. At this level, there's no way we should be conceding them. Both goals are equally as poor.
"We've competed every game this season, but we can't be that team that goes 'aye, we'll compete' but ultimately lose the game. I need to see where we go from there.
"There's a lot of stuff we could have done better. The most important part and most disappointing part, looking at it now, is that 15-20 minutes after half time. In that period we were poor."
