STEVEN GERRARD has warned his under-pressure Rangers stars that they will need to raise their levels if they are to parachute into the Europa League this term.
Gerrard saw his side capitulate at Ibrox on Tuesday night as Malmo came from behind to end the Light Blues' Champions League ambitions.
A quickfire brace from Antonio Colak condemned Rangers to a costly defeat that will see them drop into the Europa League next week.
Alashkert or Kairat Almaty now lie in wait for the champions and Gerrard knows they cannot afford a repeat of their shambolic defensive showing.
Gerrard said: "We wanted to try and qualify in this competition. It was a priority and we have underachieved over both legs.
"To concede four goals and perform in the second half last week, the second half [on Tuesday night], we haven’t been good enough.
"First and foremost we need to get over that, we need to pick ourselves up and react from that domestically in the cup on Friday night. And then, going into the Europa League play-off, we have to be better.
"The reality is, to qualify and be part of Europe, which is important for the club, over two legs you need to perform for two 90 minutes, not just two 45 minutes. We need to change things in the coming weeks."
Rangers looked on course for a play-off berth at the break as Alfredo Morelos levelled the tie and Bonke Innocent saw red for Jon Dahl Tomasson's side.
But there was no way back from Colak's double as Rangers struggled to create and paid the price for their defensive weaknesses once again.
Gerrard said: "We were up against a block for the majority of it, we were just going round the block and throwing crosses in.
"We need to be more inventive and try and play through it more and play it into our nines more, pass and run more.
"Second half, both in and out of possession, it wasn’t what we were looking for, for sure."
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