Steven Gerrard was in no mood to mince his words following Rangers ' narrow win over Alashkert.
The Ibrox side remain favourites to progress to the Europa League group stage but the result fails to tell the story of an evening that ended with the manager fighting to keep his emotions in check.
John Lundstram's first-half red card threatened to turn a lifeless first-half display into a potential crisis but Rangers rallied after the interval to take victory via Alfredo Morelos' 96th goal for the club.
That didn't stop Gerrard providing a scathing assessment of an opening 45 that typifies their season so far, however fledgling it may be.
He was more upbeat when speaking again on Friday morning, but last night's post-mortem was a deeper insight into how he's really feeling at the moment.
Here are three key points.
Finding players who are all in
“It’s about finding players who are all in, who are going to really kick-start our season, who are going to try and find our level because the first half was nowhere near what I expect.”
The obvious question here is does Gerrard feel some of his squad are not currently 'all in'?
Given the success of the season just passed, it'd be hard to imagine a lack of commitment is an issue in the Ibrox dressing room and without further interrogation it's hard to confirm exactly what the manager meant.
'All in' may not exclusively refer to effort, but in summoning the courage to play through a rough patch and once again setting the standards that culminated in an unbeaten Premiership campaign.
Based on the second-half, it seems the players are listening.
Tonight wasn't about tactics
“Tonight wasn’t really about tactics or blocks and what we had to do. The players know all the information around the block, the variety we need, the certain individuals we pick against the block.
“They know all the solutions. It was way beyond the tactics in the first half.
“You know before you kick a ball or worry about tactics, you’ve got to show fight, desire, you’ve got to be committed.
“You’ve got to run through walls, you’ve got to show these fans that you’re prepared to be all in. That’s before you even talk about the tactics.
“The first half performance was so far away from where I wanted it to be.”
Football history is littered with examples of teams who gave everything to scale the mountain then didn't quite know what to do when they got there.
Sir Alex Ferguson's 26-year dynasty at Manchester United was largely built on avoiding this very pitfall. The best managers and players find ways to sustain success and discovering the secret to that formula will be key to what happens next at Rangers.
Pundits and fans have rightly waxed lyrical about the team's tactical evolution but it's the bricks and mortar concerning Gerrard at the moment.
He laid out in no uncertain terms that he wasn't particularly concerned about the tactical approach, or his players understanding of it, but the need to lay a foundation that allows that plan to be executed.
Scott Wright was awesome
"Outstanding, Scott Wright was awesome. He was really selfless when he came on, really listened to information and I can't be any prouder of his performance.
"He's been fantastic since the first day of pre-season. He came in back in January and everything we've asked him to do - off the pitch, on the pitch - he's done it.
"He can't be in a better place and I'm really proud of him tonight."
An undeniable bright spark, the former Aberdeen star is now making a regular case for regular inclusion.
He may not have been part of the first-half slog but it's clear no one listened more intently to the manager's words than Wright.
The 24-year-old looks every inch a player who feels he has something to prove and perhaps that's the mindset Gerrard needs across the board.
