McCoist unhappy with Mohsni comments

Photo: Jeff Holmes

Rangers boss Ally McCoist admitted defender Bilel Mohsni gave Hibernian all the motivation they needed to beat his side after writing off their Championship title hopes.

Alan Stubbs' side made a mockery of the Tunisian's claims that they could only hope for a play-off place before they romped to a 3-1 win at Ibrox.

Jason Cummings netted a double with strikes either side of David Gray's header to put the Leith men three-up at the break as Rangers' shambolic defence crumbled.

Nicky Law pulled one back after the interval but the Light Blues got what they deserved after a dreadful first-half display.

Mohsni was also involved in a spat with his own fans as he walked up the tunnel but McCoist admitted his defender - who he jokingly labelled a "lunatic'' last week - had done his side no favours with his own pre-match comments.

He said: "I think sometimes we need to be careful what we say post-match as much as pre-match. I am fully appreciative that reporters have a job to do and do it to the best of their abilities but I don't think we should be making it easy for you.

"I think through naivety he did that.''

Arnold Peralta handed Hibs the 26th-minute lead when he failed to deal with a crude long punt from keeper Mark Oxley, allowing Cummings to nip in and slot past Steve Simonsen.

Stevie Smith was then caught out at the back post as Gray powered home a header, while the Ibrox back line was all over the place as Lewis Stevenson teed up Cummings for the third after 39 minutes.

The defeat means Rangers have now lost to both their main title rivals at home, with Hearts now six points clear at the top.

"The level of goal we lost is as poor as I've seen us conceding,'' said an angry McCoist.

"We started the game brightly but dearie me, the goalkeeper kicks the ball out and we lose a goal from it. That's just not on. The second goal was poor and the third was a comedy of errors.

"It's a marathon in the league and we have lost at home to what most people would regard to be our biggest rivals for automatic promotion so it's concerning.

"It's something we need to look at. You can't lose self belief in your team and we will work at it. We won't accept the defensive frailities we showed.''

Stubbs paid credit to his side and said: "The players deserve all the credit.

When you find yourself in a 3-0 lead, you think 'what's going on?' But the lads took their chances on the counter and were really positive.

"Jason did fantastic but I expect more. There has to be, because he has ability.

"There are a lot of elements he needs to brush up on. He is very raw at the moment and needs to understand the other side of the game when we don't have the ball. He can't just rely on his finishing instincts. If he does that and learns quickly then he might have a chance.''