Watch Rangers player reaction here
Walter Smith derived little consolation from Rangers' parachute placement into the last 32 of the UEFA Cup after last night's 3-0 role reversal to Olympique Lyonnais at Ibrox ensured their elimination from the Champions League.
Sidney Govou's first-half strike was added to by a late double from Kerim Benzema, but not before Jean-Claude Darcheville spurned a seemingly unmissable opportunity to equalise, hitting the bar from inches away.
Lyon responded conclusively through Benzema, Darcheville was sent off for a stamp and Smith bemoaned a lost opportunity to join Celtic in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
"I don't think the UEFA Cup place is any real consolation, it certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment," he said. "We wanted to go through and we are really disappointed we haven't managed it.
"At the start of the season, we didn't know where we were, we were a team with no real European pedigree and no real experience at this level. It doesn't take away from the fact when you get into tonight's situation, you are disappointed with the outcome."
Smith maintained that Rangers have matured collectively throughout the competition, even though their points total was accumulated in the opening three games. "It has been an experience for us in that we didn't know what our team was like or what we were capable of when we went in to the competition," he said. "We showed we are far better than the start of the tournament but there is no consolation in any other respect. We are disappointed we are in it after the Champions League."
Daniel Cousin lasted only 45 minutes as the lone striker before being replaced by Steven Naismith. Govou's early strike elicited a more attack-minded approach but left Rangers susceptible to the French counter-offensive.
"We left ourselves open after the break and while the Darcheville miss was important, they had one cleared off the line too from Benzema," said Smith. "Maybe they balanced themselves out. To lose a simple second goal was disappointing and it effectively killed the game."
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