Danny Ruhl won’t blame the officials – but have Rangers been dealt a tough hand?

However, there was an air of what might have been in Rangers’ dressing room at Hampden, after they battled their way back to the semi-finals.

“I think it was difficult because we had a feeling that we could beat them, even with ten men,” Ruhl said.

“We put in a lot of effort, showed a lot of resilience and a lot of good spirit in the second half, played beautiful football, and we were brave.

“We went more attacking and had our moments. We weren’t sitting back and I think the equalizer was deserved.

“Then we go into extra time and lose 2-1, but even then we had two chances when we were one-on-one.”

Ruhl has officiated four games since succeeding Russell Martin, with two league wins and a defeat to Brann in the Europa League and now to Celtic.

However, the German sees positive signs.

He said: “Our reaction after the red card was wonderful, but a long time passed, 55 minutes and then extra time with ten players, and my team put a lot of effort into that.”

“We have to take the positives and look for improvements. I am convinced, if we continue in this direction, we will achieve a lot of wins this season.”