The Light Blues boss was left frustrated by the 2-2 draw at Dens Park

Deflated Derek McInnes admits he’s been left feeling like a burst balloon after seeing Dundee pop Rangers’ feel-good factor.

The Ibrox side arrived on Tayside with confidence soaring after seven straight wins. But they’ve been sent crashing back to earth after dropping two crucial points with an error-strewn Dens display.

Bradley Fink gave Stephen Pressley’s impressive Dark Blues side a deserved lead when he slotted the opener seven minutes before the break.

But Badredine Bouanani’s sensational equaliser and an even better strike from Nicolas Raskin either side of half-time looked to have got Gers out of jail.

However, just as they looked set to float off with the win, a horror mistake from skipper Dan Neil put a needle through Rangers’ growing sense of belief, with Welshman Callum Jones slotting home the goal that denied the Light Blues the chance to go top of the table ahead of Celtic and Heart’s Sunday shoot-out at Parkhead.

A frustrated McInnes said: ”We spoke before the game to the players about the need to defend. Defenders needed to be good defenders. We knew Dundee would mix the game up, they would come after us on full press.

“We also knew that we had to use the ball and move the ball quicker. The reason for the change was to try and get Bouanani’s and Djeidi Gassama against their wide players because we knew that their centre half would jump to go and follow Minsu Kim.

“We just thought those isolations, those moments would cause them a lot of problems. Particularly if we could win duels and move the ball with a bit more speed. You have to say we never quite done that enough.

“I think Minsu Kim needed to play closer to Ryan Naderi at times, once we were settled into the game.

“We certainly needed to feed our wide players far more quicker, with a lot more purpose. We also needed to defend with a bit more certainty.

“Their front two were a handful, they will be for any back four this season. We never quite got to grips with them in the first half. But we scored a brilliant goal from Bouanani, which justifies the selection for me because when we get him into the right areas, if you can dominate the ball and move the ball quickly, it gives you that real threat in the final third.

“I thought his performance laterally in the first half, when we moved the ball, gets his goal. And certainly in the second half, I thought him and Gassama were magnificent.

“Minsu Kim playing closer in the derby, midfielders up in the game, we moved the ball quicker. We defended with a lot more purpose. The performance for 20-25 minutes culminated in Nico's goal.

“It should be a winning goal, because it was such a high-quality goal. The disappointment is that we had the game there, we were dominant. We had the game by the scruff of the neck.

“Dundee were struggling to get out of their own half. We were in such a good place. It was almost like a balloon popping when we made a mistake, which can happen.

“We never really got back to that same level. Although we did have enough balls in their box to score. We should be scoring.

“With some of the stats and some of the touches we had, we should be scoring more than two goals a night. So a combination of that and us also coming away from home, should they need to score three goals to win a game of football. I thought Dundee were good value.

“But the disappointment is clear, because we came here to win and we haven't done that.”

Bouanani replaced Kevin Kelsy and justified his manager’s faith by curling a sweet strike past Owen Goodman.

But the goal of the night went to Raskin’s effort as he lashed a 25-yard pile-driver in off the underside of the bar.

However, it was Old Firm hero Neil who proved to be the fall guy as his mistake cost Gers the win.

McInnes said: “The second goal is a mistake. Listen, I'm not going to criticise any of my players for it, but it is a mistake and it was difficult to say anything other than that, because we were so good in the game and you've just never seen a way back in for Dundee at that time.

“What it does do, it kills your momentum, first of all, because football's not just a physical game, but mentally.

“But it also gives Dundee something to hang on to. All of a sudden Dundee are thinking, we might just get something here. But we still worked the ball into good enough areas.

“We still have two wide players and two strikers. We still got enough balls in the box. We still had opportunities.

“We still made them defend. So although we didn't quite get to the same sort of level, I still thought we were the dominant team and we were the team that looked more likely to win it.”