Kieran Dowell says opening day draw was a reality check for Rangers

Kieran Dowell described Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Saturday as a “reality check” after boss Russell Martin questioned the mentality of some players.

It was not the start to the Premiership campaign that the new Gers boss or the travelling fans at Fir Park wanted, although it started positively when skipper James Tavernier headed in Joe Rothwell’s 14th-minute corner.

However, to the frustration of Martin and the Gers fans, the Ibrox side did not kick on and eventually succumbed to a spirited Well side in the 87th minute when Emmanuel Longelo drove in the equaliser.

It is the third successive season that Rangers have failed to win their opening league game and afterwards Martin – who has to prepare his players for the first leg of the Champions League third qualifier against Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox on Tuesday night – lashed out at some players, talking about “egos” and self-preservation”.

Dowell, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Birmingham but who has started all three games under Martin, said: “Not a big blow. It’s a reality check.

“The first season I was here, we got beaten on the first day of the season 1-0 by Kilmarnock and it was in our hands by the end of the season.

“So it’s a cliche, but it is a long season and there’s plenty of time to catch up.

“But it’s a few home truths (from Martin) I think. Obviously, we had a good start and then didn’t put the game to bed.

“Almost sleep-walked into conceding that equaliser and probably deserved it in the end.

“I think the manager’s been here five, six weeks now and that’s what he’s noticed.

“It’s not been a successful time for the club and maybe we needed those sort of home truths, maybe some of the lads needed that.

“It’s not for me to say. It’s the manager’s opinion and he said to us ‘look yourself in the mirror’.

“And it’s down to us, as players. We’ve obviously had a few managers now and it’s up to us to prove it, if we want to be at this club going forward.”

Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou, taking charge of his first game and a former team-mate of Martin at Norwich, was “delighted” with his side’s performance and believes it stands them in good stead for the future.

He said: “I think we already have confidence in what we’re doing. I think we’ve been very effective with what we’re doing, we want to be even more effective in terms of the chances we’ve created, but we’ve played some really good football in the pre-season.

“We’ve improved. We’ve played a very good (friendly) game against Hertha (Berlin) the other day, and this was a step up.

“It was a performance against a team and a club, who knows, might be in the Champions League in a couple of weeks from now.

“So we’re really happy with the progress, with the confidence that there is in the team already, and for sure, this is going to push everyone in the right direction.”