Fizzing Steven Gerrard clearly wasn't a satisfied man as he talked to the media despite only having dropped points for the fourth time this season.
That he was prepared to give a robust and critical assessment of his team and offer a fluff-free analysis despite his charges' consistency for most of the term speaks to an attitude that has no time for the inauthentic.
The Scouser has used his squad depth expertly throughout the campaign, rotating to such an extent you can rarely accurately say a Rangers player has been dropped.
Rested is far more appropriate in the most part.
And pre-match ahead of Hamilton, it was plus ça change.
Of course there was surprise at Bongani Zungu's inclusion for his first Premiership start but the South African has hardly looked out of place in cameo appearances elsewhere and has been the subject of the boss' praise in a recent press conference.
Another relative new boy's inclusion was even less startling.
Cedric Itten has been knocking at the door for a while and with Jermain Defoe injured and Alfredo Morelos suspended it always looked a good point to give him another chance to build confidence.
Ultimately neither player did their chances of a more prolonged run in the team much good as plucky Accies gave Rangers their biggest test of the season with a performance of dogged intensity.
Brian Rice' men should have won handsomely and only a stunning Allan McGregor performance saved his side's unbeaten record.
That Rangers were largely lifeless throughout, until the introduction of Kemar Roofe, Steven Davis and Ryan Jack brought some energy back into proceedings, was not missed by the manager.
He admitted: "I thought we looked a lot better when we brought the subs on.
"The subs brought personality - which tells me that I got some decisions wrong today. So I will look at myself."
The notion of mistaken and unnecessary changes was one many Rangers fans agreed with if social media and the Record Sport's Hotline is any measure of their collective thinking.
But it would also be remiss to think Rangers should always just play their best XI - there's a bigger picture here.
The Ibrox side have access to both medical professionals and incredible volumes of data that helps them ensure players are at peak condition.
They have been pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to manage injuries in Scottish football after a collaboration with Californian tech company Zone7.
And Ibrox head of performance Jordan Milsom has explained how the information gleaned shapes the management team's decisions for matches.
He told ESPN: "All of our GPS and heart rate training load data from sessions and games is uploaded automatically into the Zone7 system.
"The platform digests this, performs its modelling and provides us with risk alerts each day for players.
"Generally, there would be one or two players who may be flagged (for further monitoring). Sometimes, these flags relate to overload - other times it's underload.
"This allows us to have a deeper dive into why specifically they are at risk. This information will feed into our general staff discussions to determine if any further areas support this information.
"As we typically compete every three to four days, if risk is associated with overload, I can often use that information to help support in-game substitutions as a means of maximising player availability, whilst potentially reducing risk through reduced minutes if and when possible."
So while it's easy to agree with Gerrard's critical self-examination, it's also important to note such decisions are no longer made on the mere hunch of one man - there is now a scientific element to substitutions.
All this modern thinking is well and good but there's also a realpolitik here to consider given Rangers are on the brink of a truly historic achievement following a decade in the title wilderness.
They stood six games from glory, and Gerrard is clearly wondering if he could have asked his key men to go back to the well once more.
While that thinking is valid in the aftermath of such a stricken performance, it was a one-off game, and despite the dreadful performance, Rangers still didn't lose.
And the manager has built his squad for a reason.
The likes of Davis who is in the later stages of his career or Jack who has suffered from injuries have to be managed to get the best out of them.
The most important thing is always to ensure those who come in have the quality to replace them in a like for like manner.
While that has happened at the back with Leon Balogun and Filip Helander or with rotations in midfield between the likes of Kamara and Aribo coming in, it hasn't always worked as well with everyone.
With Itten and Zungu, you can see both are decent players who have interesting attributes but there is an adaptation that needs to be made at Rangers that is both difficult and two-pronged.
Firstly, you have to adapt to an extremely disciplined system that many players have been drilled in for two years and try to match their understanding immediately
And second, you need to get used to the hurly-burly and manic energy of Scottish football.
For new players to get better, they have simply have to play and it's a difficult balancing act for the management team.
It's also one Gerrard has pulled off deftly for most of the season, and one game perhaps shouldn't be taken in isolation against a bigger body of overall work that shows the team have been moving dramatically in the right direction.
