Deki on Rangers draw: "It’s not good enough at this moment... but it was still a good point"

While Dejan Kulusevski was not happy with our performance at Ibrox on Thursday night, he does believe the point we picked up could turn out to be rather valuable.

The scorer of our equaliser as we fought back to play out a 1-1 draw with Glasgow giants Rangers on matchday sixth in our Europa League League Phase campaign, Dejan swallowed just picking up a point given the context of our European campaign, but stopped well short of accepting the performance.

It was a game of very few clear-cut chances with neither side really able to take the game to the other as sloppiness in possession cost both teams.

Yet, despite all of our injuries and the fatigue in bodies due to the festive schedule, we showed character and resilience, especially in the moments after Rangers took the lead and Ibrox erupted. The game could have easily got away from us in that period but we fought through it, showing a mentality that will be crucial to see us through to the New Year.

"It was very important (staying focussed), especially when their fans feel the energy, their players are playing well," He explained. "We have to be strong. We had to come back in the game.

"We created some chances, then got some energy, played some good football and scored a beautiful goal. We handled that well.

"We were okay (across the game), not perfect. In the first half we conceded too much and didn’t control the game, although we had a couple of opportunities, we didn’t take them.

"In the second half, they scored directly and had a good period, but we came back and finished strong. Then, it’s close details to win the game, but also Fraser made an unbelievable save at the end. So, it’s not good enough at this moment. We have to win games, but it was still a good point.

"We just need to get a couple of results, a couple of wins. Now we have a big game on Sunday, it’s important to win that.”

Watch - Dejan's post-match reaction

We undoubtedly are facing many battles right now, especially with the aforementioned injuries and fixture schedule, but the players are showing spirit, passion and commitment through it.

That commitment is clear with the appearances that have been racked up by a number of players, including Dejan and Brennan Johnson. Starting with Welshman Brennan, our number 22 has played each of our last 55 games in all competitions and has only missed two games in total since his deadline day arrival back in 2022. 

Deki meanwhile played his 41st game on the trot as we travelled to Scotland and has appeared in 84 out of our last 86 games.

No doubt, having such commitment to the game is simply the expectation place upon any player, but the difference between theory and reality is vast and so the actual delivery of it should never be disregarded.

“Football is a war, you have to be at 100% or you’ll be eaten alive," Deki said. "You have to do everything in your power to come to the game ready. It’s a lot of games for us, a lot of injuries, that’s when you need to do even better outside the pitch and take care of the body.

"We have to help each other on the pitch, who is here, who can play can play, and it’s very important to help your team-mates because nobody is perfect but, if you stay strong together, win one tackle, or someone makes a mistake you help him, then you can go a long way. We still have to improve and do everything for each other.”