Everything the manager said after today's 2-2 draw with Hearts. 

Your thoughts on the match?

In the first minute, we defended a throw-in really poorly and there was a crazy last minute as well, between that I thought you could see Hearts' game plan and they probably got their goal earlier than they thought. It was a feisty game and you could see what it meant for them and that sort of fired us up as well and the crowd. We just changed to a back three before our first goal to help us in our build-up, in the second half we were by far the stronger team and we’ve thrown the game away really. It was a strange night all around, quite an emotional one. I thought the fans were fantastic to the players at the end, hugely proud of them.

Has that been the story of the season?

To be fair, Leon King hasn’t played much football or John Souttar. With three games in 6 days, we have to rotate around a little bit, hence some of the changes in the lineup tonight. You’re not wrong, since I’ve been every single game we’ve played we’ve missed opportunities, we need to be more ruthless in both boxes. We’ve had an unbeaten home campaign in the league which is a good sign that doesn’t happen often. It’s our away form but our away form of late has been very good so, the disappointments were early in the season and I think the group bounced back well. Overall it’s a season of disappointment and next year we need to come back and be stronger at both ends, I don’t think there’s too much wrong between the boxes, we dominate a lot of the games if you see the games with top 5 teams we don’t have too many problems with the opponents we’re playing against, we just have to be more ruthless at both ends.

What does Kieran Dowell add?

I first came across him when he was at Everton. I like lefties, we’ve missed one in our midfield since we lost Joe Aribo. I watched him come through at Everton and play for the England age groups. He’s played in the Premier League for Norwich and they’ve changed coach in his time there. He comes as a player who knows three or four in our dressing room. He’s one I like a lot and similar to Todd or Tom Lawrence, he can play in midfield or up a line. I really like him and I think he will really kick on at Rangers and be seen as a very good signing over time. I’m really looking forward to working with him.

How excited are you about change?

Well, we’re nearly there, we’ve been waiting and waiting. Without being disrespectful this squad did need energising. You’d all tell me that the first day I came back to the club, I was listening all the time. I think the players inside need it and the fans need it. We’re not that far away from where we want to be but it’s 5/6/7 new players coming in and energising. The two boys who came in January have done that and the fans want more. If you see how those boys were treated tonight leaving the club, it’s a wonderful club to play for. If you give your heart and soul for it, and give everything you’ve got the fans will repay you 10 fold.

What about the reception at full-time?

I don't think that's normal after a season that finished trophyless. The appreciation the fans showed was incredible. I'm really proud of them because they had it tough. There’s been lots of change but they feel really optimistic and they sent the boys off in the right way tonight.

What do you make of the treatment Cantwell's getting?

We all know where it’s coming from. That was a blatant foul at the weekend, two hands in his chest and anywhere else on the pitch it’s a foul. Why would Todd just fall over? But now there’s a narrative around it. He’s doing really well and I think we should just enjoy him while he’s in our league. He’s been in our league for a few months and he’s shown lots of bright things. Tonight he scored a fantastic goal, he’s feisty and he’s everything that fans want - to play the game with passion. We’ve got to be careful because we’ve been down that road before with Alfredo, haven’t we. 

How big a challenge is it to replace the experience leaving the squad this summer? 

You’re losing a lot of appearances there. You’re losing five main players, who’ve been starters for a period when fit. They’ve been really important in the journey, all the way back to big games in Europe that helped the club build. The European run last year was incredible so they’ve given a lot. We’re at a stage where we have no choice with the age, where some of the players are in their careers and we want to re-energize the squad. We need to bring some new energy, speed and athleticism into our club. We really need to improve in the final third in terms of our presence and the chances we create. They weren’t easy decisions to make because they are all fantastic men in their own right. Allan and Scott in terms of their age, what they’ve given to the squad and Steven Davis has been missing since I returned - that’s a lot of experience there. Hopefully they’ve handed the baton over to Lundstram, Tavernier and Goldson to carry that on.