Rohl urges Rangers to focus on 'small steps' after another European defeat
Rangers made it four defeats in as many Europa League games with Thursday's loss to Roma at Ibrox.
Danny Rohl urged his side to take "small steps" on their rebuilding journey after suffering a fourth straight Europa League defeat against Roma.
Rangers have lost all of their Europa League matches this season after Thursday's 2-0 reverse, two under Russell Martin and the same amount under Rohl.
First-half goals from Matias Soule and Lorenzo Pellegrini proved the difference as Rangers lost a seventh straight European game, including qualifiers, for the first time in their history.
Rohl became the first permanent Rangers manager to lose as many as three of his first five games in charge (W2), but the German is looking forward rather than back.
"At the moment, on this journey, we have to make small steps and our focus is on Sunday [away to Dundee] to get a third league win in a row," the Rangers boss told TNT Sports.
Rangers have lost 10 European games in 2025, only the fourth time a team has ever done so in one year, and one of the other three instances was also the Scottish giants, in 2022 (10).
They have also conceded the opening goal in five consecutive major European matches for the first time since doing so between September 1962 and October 1963.
Rangers have suffered 16 defeats in 2025 across all competitions already – only in 1979 (17), 1983 (18) and 1985 (19) have they lost more times in a calendar year.
Rohl still felt his side were in the game, with Youssef Chermiti missing a pair of glorious openings and Gianluca Mancini brilliantly denying Mikey Moore with the goal gaping.
"There was not so much in the game. Two times they were clinical. Until minute 75, we were in the game. But you need the momentum, to score, to come back," the former Sheffield Wednesday boss added.
"In some moments we were not sharp enough. In the second half, we found more space and were more flexible."
Rangers have now kept a clean sheet in just five of their 23 matches in all competitions, their lowest percentage (22%) of games with a shutout in a season since 1957-58 (11 in 54, 20%).
Jack Butland was again left exposed as Roma toyed with the home defence at Ibrox, and the goalkeeper acknowledged his side's lack of resilience in the first half.
"We had chances, they had some too, but there was not too much apart from those two we gave away way too easily," the nine-cap England international said on the same TNT Sport broadcast.
"We played better in the second half, but at this level we are playing against top teams.
"You get punished if you're not at it, and we weren't at it in the first half. And from there it's a really difficult task."
