Murty is sorry.

[backup 4,724]

Graeme Murty: Rangers' defeat to celtic is my lowest moment in football and I'm sorry

 

GRAEME Murty last night apologised to Rangers supporters after his side was thrashed 4-0 by celtic in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final and admitted the humiliating defeat was his lowest moment in football.

Murty, who has only been put in charge of the Ibrox club until the end of the season, refused to discuss his personal future and insisted his side could bounce back and finish second in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The 43-year-old also stated he will speak to Andy Halliday, who responded furiously to being replaced by Josh Windass six minutes before half-time, about his reaction after he had been substituted this week.

Read more: Matthew Lindsay: Rangers' painful Hampden humiliation was inexcusable - it is hard to see Graeme Murty surviving it 

First-half goals from Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor and second-half penalties from Moussa Dembele, after Ross McCrorie had been red carded for a foul on him, and Olivier Ntcham gave the defending champions a comfortable win.

It was the biggest win celtic have recorded over Rangers at Hampden since they won the Scottish Cup final by the same scorelined way back in 1969.

Brendan Rodgers’s side will complete an unprecedented double treble if they can overcome Motherwell when they return to Hampden on Saturday, May 19.

Asked what he would say to the Rangers fans who left in their thousands before the final whistle, Murty said: “I would apologise to them for the game. I would ask for the patience and ask them to keep believing, but we can’t keep asking it.

“We have to put a performance worthy of their support. We didn’t do enough to make them want to stay in the stadium today.”

Read more: Brendan Rodgers: I have empathy for Graeme Murty - he's done as much as he possibly can at Rangers

Asked what he thought the defeat meant for his own position, he said: “I’m not going to talk about my role. I think it would be churlish and selfish to talk about my own situation.”

“We were just passive. I don’t know why. I asked them to get into a shape and the structure was there to allow them to go and press but when it comes to the game, you have to get up closer to your opponent than we did in the first period.”

“I’ll have a look at it. There are things we can all get better at but it’s too raw right now to go into it. We’ll look at it in the cold light of day.”

He added: “There is belief in the squad that they can challenge celtic, but I didn’t feel it today, not in the first half. I felt it in the last game at home, but that belief keeps getting challenged and we have to step up. It’s our job to make sure this doesn’t have a bearing in the final league games.

“The players need to respond – not just against celtic. There are big games ahead of us and we have to get a response between now and the end of the season of we want to finish as we should. We all need to have a look at our contributions.

Read more: Neil Cameron: The mystery is why Rangers still find celtic a mystery...

“Afterwards here was emotion, anger, disappointment – all the things you wuld expect after a game like that It’s about putting all of them into positives to power you through to the end of the season. This is the worst I have ever felt in my career, without a doubt.

“It’s a lonely place standing on the sidelines when that’s going on. I don’t think words are enough to convey how I’m feeling right now.”

Probed about Halliday’s reaction to his substitution, Murty said: “I wouldn’t have been happy. I completely understand his frustration, but I was reacting to a situation in the game and I was looking at a different shape to the team.

“Andy’s frustrated, but I’ll see him in the week and have a chat and take things from there. It’s a frustration thing. If you deal with people in an emotional state, you get an emotional response.”

Read more: Matthew Lindsay: Rangers' painful Hampden humiliation was inexcusable - it is hard to see Graeme Murty surviving it 

Murty continued: “There’s lots of things to look at. I don’t think we got close enough to them. We didn’t put them under enough pressure and allowed them to play through us too easily. All four goals were easily avoidable just through basic, good defending.

“In the second half, we gave them the penalty and sending off which makes their job far, far easier.”

Asked what he had thought of the penalty decisions, Murty said: “It doesn’t really matter what I think of them, does it?”

Murty, whose side drew with celtic 0-0 at Parkhead back at the end of December, insisted Rangers can close the gap on celtic in future.

“That’s the million dollar question isn’t it?” he said. “You need really good recruitment, really good tactics and with more passion and belief than we showed today.”

[kaiser1041 9,088]

Just fuck off you complete fucking clown 

[K.A.I 36,183]

I accept his apology for what it's worth but it's not good enough, he knows it and he will be out of a job shortly. There's nothing more to say.

Decent of him to apologise, I apreciate it, but the damage is done and you live and die by your results as a manager.

[lidorfc 6,665]

"the players need to respond", ffs they've already downed tools. Can't wait for this disaster of a season to be finished.

[islandblue 366]

I think he’s done his best but it’s time to go now

[KingKirk 25,696]

No think the mans been kicked enough.

[TEFTONG 60,261]

An apology and saying I'm off would have been a better thing to do.

Oh yes plus telling the players to reimburse the supporters who paid for tickets and suffered that shambles as well.

[BlueSuedeSambas 53,945]

5 minutes ago, kaiser1041 said:

Just fuck off you complete fucking clown 

Not sure if you are talking about backup or Murty here tbh.

[.Williamson. 82,682]

I don't care.

I genuinely don't care for apologies. We're fucked and its alright when its nothing more than a job to you

[piperpete 3,186]

I don’t want apologies I want action to make sure we never ever play without heart and desire, we need a manager that’s a self centred cunt who doesn’t treat his players as mates making tearing a hole in the impossible.

[The Specky Forum Organiser 65,096]

Stood there with his hands in his pockets the entire game when he should have been going through each ad every single one of them and trying to get some passion out of them

Stick yer apology

[CoplandStandBear 995]

The anger should be directed at the board not the youth coach for taking his big chance in management.  

[ShanksRFC 3,870]

Was always going to end in tears for him, he never was or will be the standard required to manage Rangers. Saying that, neither has the past 4 Rangers managers but that's not their fault.

[Captain Hilts 12,819]

That alright Graeme. It's not like we've seen that kind of gutless cowardly performance from your side plenty of times before. 

[cushynumber 25,178]

2 minutes ago, CoplandStandBear said:

The anger should be directed at the board not the youth coach for taking his big chance in management.  

totally agree.

[Negri's lovechild 14,180]

1 minute ago, Captain Hilts said:

That alright Graeme. It's not like we've seen that kind of gutless cowardly performance from your side plenty of times before. 

That was the absolute worst yet though. There was nothing from us. Limp, passive, no energy or fight. We had a midfield of Rangers fans who weren't interested. That falls on management.

The management should have been sorted well before this game. That falls on the board 

[CooperSF 5,792]

12 minutes ago, backup said:

Asked what he would say to the Rangers fans who left in their thousands before the final whistle, Murty said: “I would apologise to them for the game. I would ask for the patience and ask them to keep believing..."

He added: “There is belief in the squad that they can challenge celtic..."

I genuinely have no words to respond to those comments.

[OnwardsandUpwards 834]

He apologises and that’s the least he should do.Once again the primmadonnas on the field slinck away back to the shadows without a hint of embarrassment and don’t get me started on the fucking Blazers that have overseen our worst period of footballing history ever without so much as a peep of regret!

[.Williamson. 82,682]

Just now, CooperSF said:

I genuinely have no words to respond to those comments.

He's looking a crowd of @Bluepeter9 it seems 

[Bearsden bear 2,376]

Tough gig for him with his obvious lack of experience. He was however handed a massive opportunity he scantly deserved and he has failed to deliver.

The next Man needs to be tried and tested. No more gambles!!

We need a gaffer who is respected, possibly feared. And its time for the board to pony up. After all you only get what you pay for.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

I can accept his apology, but I will never forgive him in the way he has treated Cummings. Utterly fucking contemptable and cowardly.

Too busy listening to his two biggest suck ups in Windass and Morelos. I always knew those two would get managers the sack. Both being limited in ability, both legends in their own minds, both being greedy selfish bastards and one utterly spineless and the  other bereft of any composure. Both unreliable and can't do it when it matters.

But, but they're our what? Our pair of over rated, over paid fannies.

And if our cowardly one up manager, does happen to pick Cummings, I'd tell him to go fuck himself. Why damage your reputation any further under that useless cunt. Just play the two over rated fannies together and watch them being shown up for what they really are.

[Davhow 91]

13 minutes ago, CoplandStandBear said:

The anger should be directed at the board not the youth coach for taking his big chance in management.  

100% agree. He's in a job he didn't even apply for, one he was told would be for a few weeks till a replacement was found. The replacement told us he didn't want the job and this guy was asked to hang around for another few Months, putting his permanent job at risk, even though he was told there was no chance of it being permanent. 

OK he hadn't done well, but he didn't make the team bad. He just wasn't able to turn an already bad team into a good one. I don't think anyone could. 

But the king fanboys now have their sacrificial lamb to get thier man off the hook. 

[Prso's headband 35,583]

Aye fuck your apology. Set the team up to respect and sit off the greatest team God ever created, buying into the media narrative of they tarrier bastards. 

Absolutely shat it, ram your apology. 

Anyone that thinks he should even be allowed to manage the under 10s is off their head. 

Imagine trying to bring through youth who have been bubble wrapped and never experienced conflict in a dressing room into the first team?

[King_gazza 1,065]

Totally out his depth yesterday, the starting line up was doomed for failure before they even set foot on the park.

I read earlier that Monaco are reimbursing their fans for last nights game. Rangers should be doing the same for yesterday's complete no show.

[BridgeIsBlue 66,614]

Players should be donating their wages to refund every single bear that was at Hampden yesterday. 

But they won't.