Peter Leven was frank in his assessment of Aberdeen’s second defeat in a week at the hands of Rangers.

“I thought the first half was kind of even, we had a bit more of the ball, but again without really hurting them. I thought Clarkson did alright first thing, getting on the ball and making things happen. I thought Milanovic started bright firstly 10 minutes.

“But I was just disappointed overall after that. We probably had more possession this time, but again, never really did anything with it. A couple of long shots and a lot of attacking set plays that we never took advantage of.

“I think we started well enough, but when their goal goes in, it knocks you a little bit. It’s another set piece, and the boys have got to take responsibility on that. They’ve got their man to pick up and it’s not good enough right now.

“The second half was really disappointing. My subs never really made an impact that I wanted. They were a wee bit more aggressive in the press. We got stuck on the sides a couple of times instead of keeping the ball central. Rangers were decent in the second half, to be fair, but I’ve got to look at our side and how we can get better. I know how much it means to the fans, this game, so it was disappointing.

“We are not good enough at the moment, especially for a club this size and what we want to achieve this season. There’s some nice things that I can pick out, but again, overall it’s just not good enough. I can only do so much, they players have got to step up as well.

“We’ve got a long training week ahead and as I said to the players after the game, we need to go and defend the Scottish Cup next week against Raith.”