Steven Gerrard believes Rangers will learn two valuable lessons after being held at home to Blackburn Rovers.
And the Ibrox boss insists his side needed "a kick up the backside" to dispel any complacency heading into the new season.
Jermain Defoe 's first-half header was cancelled out after the interval by Lewis Travis amid some shambolic defending from the Light Blues.
Glen Kamara was robbed in midfield and several opportunities to snuff out the danger were passed up as Tony Mowbray's men ensured Rangers conceded for the first time in pre-season.
And their manager admits his players must learn to kill teams off and cut out the sloppy mistakes that blighted last season's Premiership campaign.
"It was a fantastic test for both teams. I spoke to their staff after the game and they welcomed the challenge from us, and vice-versa," said Gerrard , who handed a debut to £3million centre-back Filip Helander in the second-half.
"It was a really interesting game. We edged the first-half, I thought we were a lot better ourselves than we were second-half.
"We're pleased with a lot of the performance, although we were a bit loose at times.
"The players and the level was a step up, Blackburn are a good team. If you're sloppy and turn the ball over, you'll get punished.
"Going back to last season, the likes of where we played Hibs, our mistakes were costly for us in the league campaign.
"We were loose, we turned the ball over and we paid for it.
"Pre-season games are, first and foremost, to get fit. But you try to rehearse how you want it to look in the upcoming season.
"So we'll definitely take the positives, for the majority of the game. The two lessons we'll take from the game are we need to kill teams off and we can't turn the ball over in dangerous areas because good teams and good players will punish you."
Speaking to Rangers TV , Gerrard continued: "Very pleased (with pre-season overall), we're one goal away from everything looking very rosy.
"But sometimes you need a kick up the backside or a setback, just so you see the warning signs that people can't get complacent.
"The timing of it is important and today I thought getting a few setbacks was important, because it gives you the kick up the backside you need."
