Dons boss Stephen Robinson was pleased with much of what he saw from his Aberdeen side against Rangers, but admitted they have to be better in both boxes.

“We could have controlled their goal against us better. We got punished for our poor decision in terms of defence. We should have cleared the ball. We have to defend better than that, but there were large aspects of the game I was very happy with, second half especially.

“There was lots of good stuff, lots of battling qualities, there was a real desire and determination. I thought we could have been better in the first half in our build up. I didn't think we showed enough composure, but certainly we responded to that.

“Our shape behind the ball should have been better. The only chances they got were from counter-attacks in the first half. There was a lot to be happy with, but ultimately we play football to get three points. For numerous reasons we haven't got that today.”

The game was, in part, decided by two big VAR calls involving Kevin Nisbet, one when he did not get a penalty after taking a shove from Sterling, another when he had a goal chalked off for what looked a very similar nudge on the Rangers defender.

“I thought we took the game to them, we created chances and key moments went against us. The authorities make sure we don't give our thoughts on certain big moments. The only thing I can comment on is I don't know who judges the amount of force. There wasn't enough for Kevin to get a penalty, then they thought there was enough to disallow the goal.

“Somebody has made those decisions, rightly or wrongly, and that certainly affects the game. They seem quite similar to me but I'm not a referee. I can only control the things I can in terms of our performance. I can’t say more than that because I want to stay in the dugout. I want to help the players and the staff in a tricky period coming up in terms of fixtures, so I can't get involved in that.

“Ultimately you get a positive result and don't play very well, it’s the result that everybody remembers. It’s the same the other way round. There were good bits that probably won't be remembered. So, you can feel sorry for yourself, you blame everybody else, or you look at what you can do better. That's certainly what we'll do as a group, we’ll look to get better as we go to Celtic.”