Philippe Clement admitted he understood the fury of Rangers fans after his team's latest disappointing away performance.
A 1-1 draw with Tony Docherty's worn-out Dundee side left the Ibrox club trailing leaders Celtic by 15 points.
A furious away crowd made their feelings known at full-time, booing Clement and his players from the Dens Park pitch, while the Rangers Supporters' Association later called for the Belgian to be sacked.
Clement claimed he has the support of the Rangers board “200 percent” but addressed fans' frustration when he said, “Yeah, of course they're not happy.” We are also sad, we are all sad, to lose these three points.
'The fans are always behind us when we are good, when we play good games. So today was not a good game. So I understand that they are not happy with that.”
A Dundee team missing ten first-team players took the lead after six minutes thanks to Oluwaseun Adewumi.
Clement looks increasingly desperate as his team drops more points on the road
Propper and Cerny look dejected after the 1-1 draw against Dundee at Dens Park
Dundee's Adewumi, top left, gave his team the lead after just six minutes.
The home team felt they should have had a penalty before Rangers escaped to equalize thanks to Vaclav Cerny with his first shot on goal in the 34th minute.
Despite Mohamed Diomande hitting the bar in the final minutes, a poor performance put pressure back on Clement after the respite offered by the recent 3-0 win over Celtic.
Insisting that he can get the fans back together, Clement added: “I know these fans. It's about us showing quality on the pitch and that they are always directly behind the team. So our task is to do it as much as possible. as soon as possible. That starts on Sunday, to show quality again and on both sides of the game. Not only offensively, but also defensively.
“Today, defensively, was better compared to the last away games. In that sense, a positive. Defender Clinton Nsiala played his first game for Rangers, a positive point.
'But in the end, of course, what matters are the results. Many points have been made in the last two or three weeks.
When asked if he still has the support of the Rangers board, Clement responded: “Yes, 200 percent.” “Every day we talk about everything, about January, the next season, everything.”
New chief executive Patrick Stewart will answer questions about the club's transfer strategy and Clement's status in the coming days.
Last night, however, the Rangers Supporters' Association issued a statement saying: “The RSA calls on the club to take decisive action and relieve the current manager of his duties.” We understand the implications of making this change. Doing nothing is not an option and will only hurt this club further in the long term.
Cerny scored for Rangers but the Ibrox club could not equalize
Clement can hardly bring himself to watch the Rangers fail to win again on their travels.
The coach was booed by the fans and cut a somber figure as he walked away at the end.
'This is a time for true leadership from our new president and CEO. Perhaps also some of the older members/investors of our board of directors will reflect on their role in relation to the current situation of the club on and off the park.'
Dundee manager Tony Docherty expressed his pride in his team's performance and believed they should have been awarded a penalty to potentially make it 2-0 before Rangers escaped to equalize through Cerny.
Debutant Clinton Nsiala appeared to trip over the foot of Dens striker Simon Murray in the area, but VAR Greg Aitken backed referee Calum Scott's decision not to award a penalty.
“I think it was a penalty,” Docherty said. “The defender was very clumsy when attacking Simon Murray. The fourth referee told me that they were checking it.
'I was surprised. I thought they should have taken a little more time to fix it.
“We lost concentration a bit after that on the Rangers goal, but it was an outstanding performance from my team.
“The mentality, the resilience and the spirit to achieve that level of performance when we are so deprived in terms of resources… the players deserve a lot of credit.”