EDUARDO HERRERA insists the Rangers players must shoulder the responsibility for their Betfred Cup exit to Motherwell.
The Light Blues crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Hampden as the pressure was piled on boss Pedro Caixinha once again.
A double from Louis Moult clinched a historic win for Stephen Robinson’s side as they set up a final meeting with Celtic next month.
But the result further intensifies the spotlight on Caixinha as he once again missed out on a third successive win as Gers boss.
Read more: Tam McManus: Going all-in on Caixinha at Rangers hasn’t paid off for Dave King
Rangers return to Premiership action against Kilmarnock on Wednesday night and striker Herrera knows Caixinha’s side must respond in the right manner.
He said: “It’s not fair on the manager because we are the ones performing on the pitch.
“We were looking for a result and we could have got it because we had the chances but we didn’t take them.
“The manager is a really good coach who works very hard, he knows what it means to be at a big club.
“He knows what it takes to represent Rangers and we as players have absolute confidence in him. We can understand why the fans are angry, totally.
“They have reasons to be angry because Rangers is a big club and we should be in the final and looking for the trophy. But we are not and that isn’t what they expect.
“We have to now look to the league, we have two games this week and we have to focus now on continuing the good results we have had in the league.”
Rangers went into the Hampden clash on the back of successive league wins over Hamilton and St Johnstone either side of the international break.
But they once again failed to fire on the big stage as Moult scored twice after the break to send the Steelmen through to the final.
It was another black mark on Caixinha’s CV and summer signing Herrera knows the performance and result wasn’t good enough on the day.
He said: “Everyone is mad because of the result, it’s not a result that Rangers should be getting. We know we should have got to the final.
“We haven’t talked with the manager, the players are angry at ourselves with the result and the performance. We are the ones responsible for the result.
“It is a very disappointing day because this wasn’t the result we were looking for.
“We had the chances to win the game but we didn’t take them and that allowed Motherwell to grow in confidence.”
Neither Caixinha nor his counterpart Robinson were on the touchline at the final whistle after being sent to the stands by referee Steven McLean during the second half.
Rangers were furious after Ryan Bowman escaped punishment for an elbow on Fabio Cardoso that forced the defender off with blood pouring from his nose.
And Herrera reckons McLean should have done more to curb Motherwell’s tough approach during a highly-charged affair at Hampden.
He said: “It was a physical game, it was exasperating for us.
“In the first battle in the air Fabio got elbowed in the face and if the referee saw it, it should have been a red card. But the referee only booked him.
“In the second half everyone saw what happened, Fabio ended up with a broken nose because of the elbow.
“Sometimes the referee allows that kind of situation and it’s not good for the game.
“It wasn’t just Fabio, there were others, I got exasperated at the end because I was battling for a ball and the defender was trapping me.
“It is annoying when you get that, but it’s football sometimes and we can’t point the finger at anyone.
“We are responsible for the result because we had chances especially in the first half.
“As a big club you have to be clinical in those situations and not let the other team grow like we did. This is what happens when you don’t do that.”
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