Rangers suffered an unwanted club first after be knocked out in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup by second-tier side Queen's Park, losing 1-0 at Ibrox on Sunday.
Phillipe Clement acknowledged before kickoff that he was aware of the dangers posed by playing lower-league opponents in the cup and was keen to avoid selecting too many youthful or inexperienced players in his starting lineup.
The Gers boss made a total of five changes to the side that cruised past Ross County by a 4-0 scoreline in the Scottish Premiership last weekend, but his lineup was still a strong one that would have been expected to comfortably get to better of Queen's Park.
However, a defensively resilient Queen's Park outfit produced one of the biggest upsets in Scottish Cup history courtesy of a 69th-minute strike from Seb Drozd, who managed to squeeze his composed shot in at the near post.
Rangers pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages and were thrown a lifeline deep into second-half stoppage time as Cyriel Dessers won a late penalty after being pushed inside the area.
Captain James Tavernier - usually so reliable from the penalty spot - stepped up from 12 yards, but his 97th-minute effort was dramatically denied by goalkeeper Calum Ferrie and Queen's Park held on for a historic triumph, reaching the Scottish Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1928.
All of the flowers for Calum Ferrie 👏#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/YNdWwsVInm
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) February 9, 2025
Rangers set unwanted club record after shock Scottish Cup exit
Despite boasting 64% possession and 28 shots on goal, Rangers lacked a cutting edge in the final third, much to the frustration of the Ibrox faithful who were in full voice as they booed Clement's players off the pitch at full time.
Rangers have now lost a home Scottish Cup tie against a team from a lower division for the first time in their 153-year history.
The defeat to Queen's Park was also the first time overall since a 1-0 loss away to Berwick Rangers back in January 1967 that they have come up short against a lower-league opponent.
Pressure continues to mount on under-fire boss Clement, who has already seen his side lose in the Scottish League Cup final to Celtic on penalties, and fall a whopping 13 points behind their Old Firm rivals in the Scottish Premiership.
Speaking to Premier Sports after the match, Clement said: "They built credit back in the last weeks and months with the fans. Today, they lost everything."
Asked whether a manager can survive a trophyless season at Rangers, the Belgian added: "It happened several times in the past. We know it's a rebuild. I'm focused on the next game.
© Imago
Clement: "It's unacceptable and the players know that"
"It was nothing to do with tactics, or whatever. It's about the quality of the moment and that, we missed today.
"Yes, I'm confident about [my position]. Everybody knows how hard everybody is working together. Last week, everyone is saying the team is taking good steps and growing."
In a separate interview with BBC Sport Scotland, Clement said: "We had more efforts on target today than we have had all season, but we didn't manage to score - not even with a penalty.
"It was one moment. I won't take conclusions from all season from one moment. We wanted it too much, because of that there was no composure.
"The fans are right to be angry, now. I'm angry also. It's unacceptable and the players know that."
Rangers, who are still competing in the Europa League this season, will now shift heir focus to next weekend's Scottish Premiership trip to Hearts.
Oliver Thomas
