McCall: We Wont Crumble

Pic: Jeff Holmes

Stuart McCall insists his first defeat as Rangers boss will not send the Ibrox side into a tailspin. The Light Blues crashed 3-0 against Queen of the South at Palmerston as McCall's five-match unbeaten start to his reign was killed off. Queens registered the biggest ever win over Gers in their 96-year history as they cost the Glasgow giants the chance to book their place in the promotion play-offs. The worry for the Ibrox faithful now after a traumatic start to 2015 which saw their side win just three times before McCall's arrival last month is that they will stumble from one disaster to another. But McCall brushed off any notion his side would slip up again when they host Raith Rovers this weekend. "There will be no confidence factor come Sunday, I can assure you of that," said the former Motherwell boss. "Sometimes you get beat in games of football and you just have to hold your hands up. "But the confidence won't be rocked. I said to the lads we will put a line under it. Yeah we know we weren't good tonight but we will be good on Sunday." Rangers beat newly-crowned Scottish Championship winners Hearts last weekend but lacked the same spark this time. They fell behind when Derek Lyle smashed past stand-in keeper Lee Robinson - deputising for the injured Cammy Bell - after 33 minutes. Lewis Kidd scored the second, seeing his shot go into the net off Lee Wallace 16 seconds after the break, while Gavin Reilly stroked home the third to compound Gers' misery with 20 minutes to go. Rangers' inferior goal difference means they stay third behind Hibernian but still have a game in hand on the Leith men. "Fair play to Queens," said McCall, who hopes to see Bell shake off his knee knock in time for Sunday. "They were clinical when they had their chances. "We controlled large parts of the first half but they got a lot of good blocks in. It's about scoring goals and they got the first one. "We came out in the second half looking to make more of an impression on the game and be positive. "Then we lost a goal that was really poor defending straight from the kick-off. Then you are 2-0 down and chasing the game. And that suited them with their pace on the counter attack. "We had some chances second half but we never really did enough. Football is about taking your chances and scoring goals at the right time. We didn't do that tonight. We weren't good enough to win the game but we move onto Sunday now. "But I don't that was down to complacency. "When we aren't at our best - which we need to be because we aren't the greatest of sides - we're up against it. "Queens are a good side and credit to them. "But I've said it before and I'll say it again, there will be ups and downs between now and the end of the season. "It's how we reacted to it, and Sunday can't come quickly enough for me." Queens boss James Fowler said: "We were backs to the wall a wee bit in the first half. But we managed to cope with that. We got the goal and then getting another one so early in the second half gave us a cushion. "All the players were excellent. The boys on the bench were itching to get on but I have told them that we will need them all. "This was a great night but we have massive games all the way now to the end of the season. We want to finish in that top four."