MARK WARBURTON insists his Rangers side were not suffering an Old Firm hangover despite seeing them drop points at home for the third time this season.
The Ibrox side could have moved level on points with second-placed Aberdeen had they beaten St Johnstone.
But instead it is Tommy Wright’s side who move into third place in the Ladbrokes Premiership after claiming a 1-1 draw in Glasgow.
Blair Alston fired Saints ahead after five minutes and while Joe Garner levelled late in the first half it was Saints who came closest to snatching victory when Alston smashed the base of the post 15 minutes from the end.
It is yet another setback for Rangers after Sunday’s Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic.
But Warburton was in no mood to blame that result for his team’s latest disappointment.
“Sunday’s game didn’t affect us,” said the Englishman. “They played Sunday too so there are no excuses that way.
“The semi-final was an emotionally draining game but it’s part of playing for a club like this, there are no excuses.
“It was a decent first half. We went down to a very good goal then worked hard to get the goal back.
“But the second half was below our standard. It was an opportunity missed tonight.
“It was a decent first half but we didn’t continue that and we gave the ball away cheaply.
“We weren’t brave getting out, despite the possession stats we didn’t play the way we wanted to.”
Celtic continued their impressive start to the campaign as they steamrollered Ross County 4-0 in the Highlands with goals from Patrick Roberts, Stuart Armstrong, Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele.
Brendan Rodgers, who made eight changes to his line-up, believes his side are in great shape ahead of Saturday’s trip to Aberdeen.
“I thought the players who came in delivered and were outstanding,” he said. “But it was a tough game, Ross County are one of the best teams we have played and we know it will be a tough one on Saturday.”
Kilmarnock produced a surprise result as they shot down Hearts 2-0 at Rugby Park thanks to goals from Souleymane Coulibaly and Steven Smith.
Partick Thistle frontmen Adi Adeez and Kris Doolan heaped more misery on bottom club Dundee as they fired Jags to their first win in 10 games with a 2-0 Dens Park triumph.
Inverness were also celebrating an away win as they left Fir Park with a 3-0 success over Motherwell. Carl Tremarco, Lonsana Doumbouya and Liam Polworth did the damage to the Steelmen as Richie Foran’s team climb into the top six.
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