What James Tavernier 'didn't accept' as Rangers boss Danny Rohl addresses AWOL captain and Hibs defeat

Tavernier played no part in what would have been his final home match after 11 years at Ibrox after reacting angrily to the decision not to play him from the start.

Rohl said the decision to name Tavernier initially among the substitutes was taken on medical grounds and that it was always his intention to give him minutes to allow him a proper farewell.

Instead, the defender’s only appearance on the pitch was a pre-match ceremony with Ibrox legend John Greig before heading back up the tunnel and away from the stadium. Rangers have one final league game away to Falkirk on Saturday and Rohl was unsure whether Tavernier would feature.

The manager said: “I made my decision, I was very transparent with him. I thought and wished for him that he got some minutes. This is exactly my decision because I am the manager. And finally, he didn't accept that he will not start today and then he stayed away from the team.

“I don't know yet (if he will play on Saturday) because from my knowledge he put in (to have) his injection tomorrow and then I have to check what it means, if he is available or not for Saturday.”

Rohl admitted this had been a mirror image of Rangers’ previous three outings, a positive first half display giving way to an insipid second half showing as Hibs stunned them on the counter to claim a precious victory in their quest to nail down European football next season.

The German said he was “disappointed and angry” with the recent run rather than shocked and admitted that the club faced a big summer to ensure there was no repeat.

He added: “It was a mirror of our recent performances. You put a lot of things in, you create chances, they come three times in our box and score two goals. This is not good enough at the moment. We spoke about this today with the players.

“I’m not shocked, it's more disappointed and angry with ourselves for how we’ve acted in the last three or four weeks. This is not enough to wear the shirt from Rangers and this is what we have to learn from the first day of pre-season. And I will do this.”

In contrast, the victory sets it up nicely for Hibs who can leapfrog Motherwell with a win over them at Easter Road on Saturday.

Manager David Gray said: “Before the game we spoke about it being all about us and making sure the only scenario for us to take it to the last day was to win.

“I'm delighted for the players because of what they've put in and how they've stuck together over a wee difficult period. It sets it up nicely for the weekend.”