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There are some home truths being told inside the Rangers dressing room ... I can guarantee you that – Barry Ferguson The legendary Rangers captain pulls back the curtain on what is being said inside the changing room There's no point beating about the bush. On Friday night at Tannadice the F word was what sprang to my mind. Frustration. I saw it etched all over the face of Derek McInnes as he watched his Rangers side drop two points in the opening league game of the season against Dundee United. And I felt it too, especially after Thelo Aasgaard smashed home an equaliser early in the second half. It’s at that point that I expected Rangers to kick on and score another one or two goals. The fact that they allowed the tempo to drop and ended up settling for a share of the points was the most frustrating thing of all. And, not for the first time, it’s led to questions being asked about the mentality of some of these players because they should have been even more frustrated than anyone else. They were the ones who had the chance to actually do something about it out there on the pitch. But when they should have put the foot down against a Dundee United side that was there for the taking, they dropped the intensity levels. It made no sense. The manager can’t do very much about that. That’s when you’re relying on players having the mentality to push on and show the desire to turn one point into three. They have to demand that from themselves and from their team mates. When the opposition is on the back foot then you have to go for the throat and to do them some serious damage. These players have to understand the responsibilities which come with pulling on that shirt and realise that settling for second best will simply not be tolerated. I didn’t see enough of that killer instinct from them so it’s no wonder Derek didn’t enjoy what he was seeing from the sidelines. Let’s put it this way, I don’t think these guys would have been going back into a quiet dressing room, either at half time or after the 90 minutes were up. I’m entirely sure Del would have let them know that their performance simply won’t be acceptable going forward. And he’ll have had them back in at Auchenhowie over the weekend to show them exactly where they went wrong. And that’s the biggest positive Rangers can take away from a very disappointing season opener. It will result in some honest conversations taking place while there are still 37 league games to go and plenty of time to get things right. Not only will Del use this as an opportunity to tell a few home truths inside his dressing room but he will also be able to knock on the door of his recruitment department and demand more help from them, as quickly as possible. It was obvious to anyone who watched that game why the manager is crying out for creative players and difference makers in the final third. Not just one. He needs at least a couple of new arrivals who are capable of lighting things up in attacking areas. And, yes, he will be feeling very frustrated about that too because he’ll have been desperate to get these players in his squad before he even stepped on the team bus to go up the road to Tayside. Del knows the importance of getting this season off to a flying start and the sooner he is given the tools he needs the better his chance of making that happen. But he’ll understand too that these things do tend to take a bit of time, especially when you are targeting the kind of talent that Del will be looking for at the business end of the pitch. Unfortunately, you can’t just click your fingers and bring these guys in. If they’re as good as they have to be then there will be others at the same table, making offers to compete against. The selling club has to be prepared to let them go too. And more often than not they will only do that when they have a replacement nailed down. Yes, all of it is frustrating, especially when you’re in Derek’s shoes and your own domestic season is already up and running. But that doesn’t mean he can’t hammer home the message to his own recruitment department and I’m sure they’ll have seen for themselves now that the situation really is becoming urgent. In the meantime, Derek will be working with the players who are inside his dressing room and the good news is, at a club like Rangers, there’s always an opportunity around the corner to put things right. With two big games coming up in the next six days, he’ll be itching to get going again and build some early momentum. On Thursday night there’s the first leg of Europa League qualifier against Jagiellonia Białystok in Poland and that will now be at the centre of the manager’s attention. He’ll have picked through Friday’s performance, pointed out what needs to be improved and worked on them on the training ground. Now it’ll be a case of moving on and getting properly prepared for the next one. If Rangers can get a win under their belt on the road then they can look forward to a visit from Hibs on Sunday and the chance to get three points on the board at a packed Ibrox. And that will go a long way to making everyone feel a bit better about themselves. It’s certainly way too soon for anyone to push the panic button even though the Rangers supporters will also be frustrated themselves right now after four years without a win in the opening game of the league season. I get that. These fans have suffered a lot of disappointment over the past few years and they’re looking for signs that things are going to be different this time. The good news for them is that no-one will be more frustrated than Derek himself. And he’ll be desperate to make sure his side bounces back at the first opportunity.