Rangers fans will have to wait for the international break to try and put the shambolic Old Firm display behind them, others have been slightly more fortunate.
The players called up by their countries get to focus on something else and have the chance to prove that what they served up at Parkhead was a one off.
Vaclav Cerny hasn’t been allowed to get off the hook so easily though and has expressed his surprise at just how intense Rangers rivalry with their city neighbours really is.
Vaclav Cerny makes Rangers performance admission
Czech international Cerny was one of the players signed in the summer to help close the gap on Celtic.
With Greg Taylor as his direct opposition, the on-loan Wolfsburg winger really should have made more of the opportunity, instead, he found himself isolated or running into traffic.
Not until he switched to the left-hand side, did he have any real joy in the final third.
Speaking to the media ahead of his country’s Nation’s League clash with Georgia, Cerny knows what he and his teammates at club level have to do now, as reported by The Sun:
“We didn’t do well at all, they outclassed us in everything.
“Now we have to catch them at any cost, that’s our main goal.
“I haven’t seen such a rivalry for a long time. Of course, I never played for Sparta Prague or Slavia Prague in their derby.
“But compared with our main derby it is far bigger and more brutal.”
Philippe Clement analysis of Old Firm made valid point
Interestingly, Philippe Clement didn’t quite agree with Cerny’s assessment of the Parkhead display and felt that it was only in the fine margins where victory was won when asked for his thoughts on the game:
“That we started the game really well. That we had the best of the ball in the first ten minutes, get two really good opportunities with Cyriel (Dessers) coming free in front of goal and with Rabbi with a free header there.
“So you need to be clinical in those games. To come in front changes the momentum. And it would have helped the team a lot to go in front here.
“We did good things with the ball to create that but we need to be more clinical in those moments.
“It was the same in the second half because at the end Celtic have 14 shots and we have 13, they had four on target, we had four on target.
“But you lose 3-0. That is really a clear result in difference in efficiency. Of course you give them a lot of confidence if they come 1-0 in front and 2-0 in front.
“It is always easier to play. Ball possession was also equal today at 47-53 between the two teams.”
On this occasion, they are both right.
Somehow, Rangers managed to create enough chances to win the game, good chances too and had more possession than normal at Parkhead.
This is despite the forward line failing to click as they did a week earlier and the midfield struggling to get a foothold in the game.
Add this to the perceived lack of effort and intensity and you get the result that many feared.
Receive a digest of our best Rangers content each week direct to your mailbox
