THE damage that has been done cannot be repaired. All Rangers can do now is lay new foundations once again.

That has been accomplished on several occasions already this season but every building block that has been put in place ends up crumbling round about them.

It took the Light Blues five attempts to finally turn back-to-back wins into a hat-trick of victories as Graeme Murty led his side to two successes over Aberdeen and then saw off Ross County and Hibernian earlier this month.

But the momentum that was gained has quickly been lost and Rangers find themselves in familiar territory and on the back foot once more.

In terms of the ineptitude of the performances and the costliness of the results, it is hard to separate the losses to St Johnstone and Kilmarnock and decide which one was worse for Rangers.

What is certain is that the Gers can ill-afford to add a third match on to that sequence and sustain another blow when Motherwell make the trip to Ibrox this evening.

And midfielder Jason Holt knows the reaction must be the right one if Murty’s side are to avoid coming under more friendly fire from the Light Blue legions.

He said: “We realise the last two results are unacceptable. It is down to the players to change that.

“We know all eyes are on us and people are waiting to criticise us. It is up to us to rally together and put things right quickly.

“I think we do merit the criticism that has come our way. The results are not good enough, especially as we were in a winning position in both games. We shouldn’t let that slip.

“Kilmarnock did have a period of dominance, but we should be able to handle that better. Now we all need to stick together and put things right.”

It is Murty that will carry the burden on his shoulders in the coming months after he was confirmed as manager until the end of the campaign.

The 43-year-old won six of his nine matches as interim boss but the defeats to Hamilton, Dundee and St Johnstone, and Saturday’s at Rugby Park, leave him with critics to silence and doubters to win over.

Many fans will absolve him of much of the blame for Rangers’ current predicament but Holt admits the Ibrox squad must hold their hands up and accept responsibility.

He said: “We are all delighted that Murts has the job until the end of the season.

“We will give everything we’ve got from now until he steps down.

“For the fans, for the club in general we need to get things right and make it better.

“We are the players that step on the park. And going on the performances against Kilmarnock and St Johnstone we need to do a whole lot better.

“We need to look in the mirror and ask if we can do better. I think everyone will say they can.

“We didn’t just let the manager down, we let ourselves down. When you don’t win a game of football for this club you let everyone down.

“He will now be there until the end of the season which gives us stability.

“We have already been working hard with him but we can keep pushing on and working harder.”

The list of problems is lengthy for Rangers and there is no evident quick fix heading into the New Year. Events this week can shape the mood and the narrative, though.

Victory over Motherwell tonight is essential for Murty’s side but the Old Firm clash with Celtic on Saturday presents an altogether different, and more difficult, challenge.

Rangers have been consistently inconsistent throughout the campaign as performance levels have fluctuated and points have been squandered.

Holt said: “It is hard to put your finger on what it is. But, we need to try and get it out of our system as it has been a theme throughout the season.

“We still have a long way to go in the season so the sooner we get rid of it the better.

“We were on a good run, but that is the story of our season.

“Inconsistency has been a big thing for us. We win three games but then we can’t follow it up. We should be going on longer winning runs.”

That is just one of the goals that must be set, and achieved, by Rangers going into the New Year if they are to give supporters hope that there is light at the end the tunnel.

There is no guarantee that Murty will still be in situ come the start of next season but he will have scope to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window.

Injuries to Lee Wallace and Graham Dorrans haven’t helped Rangers’ cause in recent weeks, and neither has the suspension of Ryan Jack or loss of Kenny Miller.

Holt said: “I think we could do with adding a few players. I think that is evident on the park.

“We need a few bodies in different areas of the pitch but that is not for me to decide.

“Any additions would be welcome. We have big players missing through injury and suspension. If we can get them all back it would help us.”