Ryan Jack admits humbled Rangers must prove they have the character for a title fight by bouncing back from their derby thrashing when they host Hearts on Sunday.
The Ibrox side were knocked off the top of the cinch Premiership on Wednesday after losing 3-0 to city rivals Celtic following an abject first-half display at Parkhead.
Rangers, who won the title last year and had led the way for most of this season, must now show they have the powers of recovery to stop the in-form Hoops turning the screw and pulling away at the summit.
“Sunday’s going to be another tough one but for us as players, we need to stand up and be counted for this club and the supporters,” said midfielder Jack. “There needs to be a reaction because it’s going to be tough again.
“Hearts will be thinking we’ll be feeling the effects of that defeat so it’s important we discuss it and then dust ourselves down and move on quickly. On Sunday we need to be ready to come out the traps.”
Jack came on at half-time with his side trailing 3-0. Although Rangers competed better in the second half, the damage was already done.
“We let ourselves down massively,” said Jack. “It was a sore one to take. As players and a group of men we need to stand up and address that. We need to pick the bones out of it and see what’s gone wrong defensively and see what we can do better.
“I don’t think we got close enough to them. We were too passive, standing off and not really making tackles. Historically, this fixture is about winning the battle first, especially coming to Celtic Park when their fans are up.
“On that side of it we didn’t really turn up and we also lost bad goals. We need to take our medicine.”
The second-half performance of Jack, who has been plagued by injury over the past year, was one of the only positives for Rangers as he helped them gain a much-needed foothold and almost scored with a stunning long-range strike that hit the crossbar.
“He made a big difference,” said manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst.
“I know what Ryan can bring to the team and I know what circumstances he has had for many months with his injury but I’m glad he was able to play – 45 minutes was the max we could get from him because of his injuries but for me he was the best player on the pitch in the second half.
“Not only his performance, but his attitude, his coaching and his motivation. I think he changed the game for us.”
