As for optimism, Rangers were brimming with positive energy as they traveled to Dundee on Saturday night on the back of seven straight wins.
However, the Dan Neil error “feels like a balloon burst”, manager Derek McInnes said, as the Ibrox side lost their chance to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership after a 2-2 draw at Dens Park.
McInnes’ men were punished for a disjointed first half when the impressive hosts went ahead through Bradley Fink, but Badredine Bouanani fired home an equalizer just before the break.
Rangers raised their intensity and level of dominance after the break and were on their way to an eighth straight win when Nicholas Raskin struck a stunning long-range strike.
But Neil’s back pass to goalkeeper Ivor Pandura by Callum Jones gave Dundee a deserved point, opening the door for Celtic to extend their lead to four points when they host Hearts on Sunday (15:00 BST).
“We made a mistake with Dundee’s equalizer and it was like a balloon burst,” McInnes told BBC Scotland. “Then we had to dig deep and go again and we never got to the same levels.
“It feels like a missed opportunity, but to be fair to Dundee, they gave good value in the first half – that shows why they are in the league.
“But we can’t leave home and score three goals to win a game.”