Ivor Pandur is adamant that Rangers will take collective responsibility for their weekend failings at Dens Park.
The Ibrox men’s hopes of extending their seven-game winning streak were dashed on Tayside as Dundee capitalised on two major errors.
Dujon Sterling’s indecision in the first half allowed Bradley Fink to nip in and put the home side ahead.
Rangers turned the game on its head with spectacular goals arriving from Badredine Bouanani and Nico Raskin either side of the break.
Just as the three points looked secure, though, a stumble by Dan Neil on the edge of his own box allowed Callum Jones to square the contest.
Refusing to let Neil shoulder the full responsibility for the concession of two precious points, goalkeeper Pandur says the blame must be shared throughout the squad.
Dan Neil, above left, is crestfallen after his gaffe allowed Dundee to make it 2-2
‘Mistakes will happen in football,’ said the Croatian. ‘It’s a game of beautiful moments and of mistakes.
‘One day it’s one, another day it’s the other. But we’re not a team who points fingers. As a whole, we created a lot and should have scored more.
‘It’s not about individuals here. We need to understand how important these games are. If we want to be a title-winning team, we need to act and behave in that certain way.
‘I think we’re on the right path, but it was a frustrating game for us.’
After an uncertain start at Ibrox to his time in Glasgow, Neil proved his worth as Rangers went from strength to strength in September. And Pandur is convinced that the former Sunderland midfielder will pick up where he left off after a difficult night at Dens Park.
‘You cannot take anything for granted in football,’ he added. ‘The reality is Dan is a great guy, an unbelievable player and really important for our team.
Dundee’s Callum Jones celebrates with team-mates after taking advantage of Neil mistake
‘If he makes a mistake or scores a goal, that doesn’t change. He’ll continue to be important for us. It can happen to everybody and it does.
‘For us, it’s about not getting into that position where one mistake really costs us the game. We could have been more in front and had an easier ending.’
Pandur expressed his dismay that Rangers didn’t put the game to bed after giving themselves a shake at half-time.
‘It was really frustrating,’ he said. ‘We really felt that and it’s not a nice feeling, especially coming from a winning run.
‘We know it’s two points dropped and we’re not happy about it. But we’re in this together and we’ll have these moments in the season.
‘It’s a moment where we need to show what we want to achieve.’
Rangers also drew along the road at Dundee United on the opening night of the Premiership season — a result which signalled a tough start to the campaign.
Rangers keeper Ivor Pandur says team takes collective responsibility for mistakes
Dan Neil wants the ground to swallow him up after his costly gaffe at Dens Park
Asked if he believed the team was now in a better place to bounce back, Pandur replied: ‘Yes — we have togetherness and a good feeling between each other. We all support each other and we can get through this moment easily.
‘We just need to get our heads down, see what was wrong and what can be done better to control the game a little bit more. That’s why we have a week to train and improve.
‘We won a lot of games in a row. When we were not the better side, we still managed to get a win in some of those. We hoped Saturday would have been the same.
‘It’s hard to point your finger at exactly what was wrong but we’ll look back at it and improve.’
The plus points for Rangers were two spectacular goals, with Raskin’s dipping strike arguably even better than Bouanani’s earlier curling effort.
‘I haven’t seen a better goal than Nico’s for a long time,’ Pandur reflected. ‘That was supposed to be the moment.
‘That hurts me even more. That should have been the moment people talk about after the game. He scored an unbelievable goal and, like Dan, he’s really important for us.
‘He’s also a great guy and that will have taken a bit out of him. But Nico will have more of those moments, and winning ones as well.’
