Steven Gerrard admitted his defence must shoulder the blame for his side’s slip-up against Kilmarnock and not stand-in stopper Wes Foderingham.

The Light Blues back-up goalkeeper was given a surprise start against Steve Clarke’s men as Gerrard opted to let number one Allan McGregor rest a back strain.

But there was nothing the Englishman could have done as Greg Stewart swept home a stunning 15th-minute strike to cancel out Alfredo Morelos’ early opener.

However, Gerrard could not say the same for his back-line as the Light Blues suffered another night of frustration three days on from their Betfred Cup exit at the hands of Aberdeen.

It could have been much worse had Foderingham not denied Stewart again in stoppage time and Gerrard said: “Wes stopped us from actually dropping all three points with a terrific save at the end.

“He has been outstanding in training the last two or three weeks.

“Allan has had a small problem on the right side of his back, probably not enough to keep him out but a flag, if you like, to me about his age and the amount of games we are going to play over the course of the season.

“I actually thought our reaction from Sunday would allow me to change the keeper.

“But there are no fingers to be pointed at Wes. He could have done nothing at the first goal where we didn’t defend well enough.

“We were soft, missed the header and let a left-footer come back on his strong foot. There are other people to point fingers at for that goal. Because of Wes, we didn’t lose the game at the very end.”

Kilmarnock boss Clarke, whose side remain three points above Gers in third place, was delighted with his team’s dogged display.

“I believe we’re the first team in the league to come here and stop Rangers getting all three points, so we can be pleased with that,” he said.

“But, we’re also a little bit disappointed because we also had opportunities, especially in the second half when the game opened up a little bit.

“We could have scored because Greg Stewart got away at the start of injury time and with a little bit of luck we might have nicked another goal.

“With a little bit more care and attention, we might have had all three points.”