Rangers caretaker boss Graeme Murty demands response after Inverness loss
He says his players cannot afford to sink into self-pity after a fourth game without a Premiership win.
The Light Blues suffered their second consecutive league defeat since the abrupt departure of Mark Warburton when they went down 2-1 against Inverness on Friday night.
It was Caley Thistle's first win in 15 league matches and took them off the bottom of the table.
Murty revealed he had been receiving assistance but refused to divulge from whom, and he was already looking ahead to the visit of St Johnstone on Wednesday night while trying to digest the latest blow.
This disappointment can't last too long for the players because we have to make sure we are ready and focused come Wednesday,'' he said.
The chance is still the same for us to go and get second place. We have to make sure we pick up points and we haven't managed to do that. The challenge is still there, there is an opportunity to go and get second and until it's mathematically impossible, this group of players will be fighting to go and do that.''
It would be really easy for the players to sink into disappointment and a lack of confidence but we have to make sure we get them up for that because we have a really big game and hopefully we can go out and put this right.
Rangers failed to build on a promising start and Greg Tansey curled home the opener from long range in the final minute of the first half.
And Inverness finished the stronger side after Martyn Waghorn levelled from the spot midway through the second half. Wes Foderingham pulled off two excellent late stops from Tansey and an Iain Vigurs penalty before Billy McKay ensured the hosts celebrated their 1,000th competitive game with a victory when he held off Rob Kiernan and looped home an overhead kick in the 89th minute.
Home manager Richie Foran questioned his players' courage after a 3-0 defeat by Hamilton earlier in February but they have now gone three league games unbeaten to breathe life into their season.
I'm delighted for the players, particularly the supporters as well who have stood right behind us,'' he said.
To be bottom of the table for so long, I think weaker-minded players would have crumbled by now. Not these boys, brave boys, brave, brave lads.
We kept it positive all the time, told them it's coming, it's coming, we kept believing, we kept them believing and we showed with two fantastic goals that hopefully can start a run.
We want to go eight or nine games unbeaten. We are off the foot of the table and we want to climb it now.''