Cambuslang Rangers co-boss Billy Campbell says his side must “take it on the chin” after suffering a 5-1 friendly thumping against Shotts Bon Accord at Hannah Park on Saturday.
The visitors were 1-0 down before Kieran Christie was shown a straight red card in 32 minutes.
Shotts ran riot, with Alan Reid scoring an 89th-minute consolation for the Wee Gers.
Campbell says it’s important to learn from the game, but wasn’t too concerned.
“If truth be told it was a very difficult game and it wasn’t a great day at the office for us,” said Campbell.
“It’s still pre-season, it’s not always going to be sweetness and light, as everybody knows in football, so there are going to be a couple of bumps in the road.
“On Saturday we got what we deserved. If you go down to 10 men against a team of that size, with that calibre of player, and on a park that size, you’re going to struggle.
“We just need to take it on the chin and come back stronger, as a result.”
Campbell added: “It was an even game, nip and tuck, until we went down to 10 men, and you don’t want to do that on a park that size.
“I was hoping the referee would maybe have came to us and said ‘look, take the boy off’, but we never got that luxury, he played by the rules and we need to stick with it.
“We took one of the boys back and put him out wide, so that put us up against it, but credit to Shotts, they exploited the gap and had some decent finishing.
“We asked for a reaction and the work-rate was up, in the second half we played relatively well, the players applied themselves very well, but by that point it was damage limitation.
“You’re trying your best to take what you can out of the game.
“To be fair to them, we probably had two or three chances, but their goalkeeper had a couple of absolutely fantastic saves, and it would have looked far more respectable.
“Whether it was a 5-1 game or not doesn’t matter, because the scoreline is the scoreline.”
Rangers will travel to Thorniewood United on Friday night to play their final friendly before the league kick-off.
Campbell said: “We’ve got a couple of sessions this week and we’re looking to get a game for Saturday, and then we’ll have a game in midweek.
“We’re trying to tie something up to see who’s available, to get a wee kick of the ball and try to get back on the horse.”
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