Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha admits only 80 per cent of his side had a “very good” game against Progres Niederkorn on Thursday night.
The Scottish giants kicked-off their 2017-18 campaign with a narrow 1-0 win in the Europa League first qualifying round first-leg clash against the Luxembourg outfit at Ibrox.
Veteran goalscorer Kenny Miller had conjured the match-winning strike in the 37th minute, with Rangers wasting a number of opportunities to extend their lead and put the tie to bed.
Experienced midfielder Niko Kranjcar was also impressive, pulling the strings in the middle of the park on only his first appearance for the club since October.
Caixinha had also handed five of his summer signings their competitive debuts, with Ryan Jack and Fabio Cardoso particularly impressing after being given the nod in the starting eleven.
However, despite recording a priceless victory, the Portuguese still found cause to be critical of side’s performance, admitting that some of his players were not up to scratch.
He said, as quoted by STV: “We know the reality we are facing. I would say 80 per cent of the players had a very good performance.
“It’s not a question of fitness, it’s more a question of good decisions and being more aggressive in the exploring and finishing.
“We could have been better exploring the space and could have been better getting presence inside the box, definitely.”
Caixinha has proven happy to criticise his players in the public sphere since being appointed as manager at Ibrox back in March, having exiled a number of his senior stars ahead of the new season.
Yet while he admits that not all of his players were at their best on Thursday evening, he did not disclose the identities of his poorest performers, although assumptions can still be made by fans.
Nevertheless, the victory sees Rangers take a valuable one-goal lead to Luxembourg for their return-leg on Tuesday, where another win could see them move one step closer to the Europa League group stages.
Should they beat Progres Niederkorn, they are scheduled to face the winner of the clash between Jagiellonia Bialystok and Dinamo Batumi in the second qualifying round.