STEVEN GERRARD insists it would be a 'cop out' to look for excuses after Rangers saw their Scottish Cup dreams ended by St Johnstone.

The champions suffered another shock knock-out defeat this term as Callum Davidson's side earned a famous Ibrox win on Sunday.

Rangers have struggled to hit the heights since clinching the Premiership title a month ago and were once again below their best against the Saints.

 

 

But Gerrard will continue to strive for improvement as he dismissed suggestions that his side peaked emotionally after securing a sought-after 55th league flag.

Gerrard said: "I think it's the easy way out, a cop out, for us to use excuses from three or four weeks ago.

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"We felt fantastic back then and there was a lot of relief and emotions. Rightly so, we deserved that.

"But I made it clear the Scottish Cup was a priority and we needed to keep hungry.

"A lot of this game was alright. We had the best chances but you need to take them, or you get stung at the end of games.

"Credit to St Johnstone, they got one moment and then it was on to penalties.

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"We need to take responsibility for this and we need to be better in cup competitions moving forward.

"We have never said we are finished. We always have one eye on how we can improve.

"That goes for me as well. I am really disappointed with how this has ended and I will reflect on how I can get this group better.

 

 

"We need to be better prepared for cup competitions moving forward and we will be back stronger next season.

"But there will be no shying away from us taking that responsibility and I see loads of areas where we can improve. We will keep striving to do that."