GERS CAN’T AFFORD TO TUMBLE FURTHER
Murty needs to be taken out the firing line as his world’s turned upside down
PAUL HARTLEY warned Graeme Murty he wouldn’t know what had hit him after stepping into the Rangers hotseat.
And yesterday the Dundee manager delivered the first blow on the rookie gaffer to leave him trying to bury his head in the Dens Park turf.
It was youth coach Murty’s first top-flight test since agreeing to hold the fort after Mark Warburton’s departure and it was a harsh introduction.
Mark O’Hara and Kevin Holt struck in the first half and despite Joe Garner pulling one back, it was the Dark Blues who celebrated an historic first home victory over Gers in almost 25 years to move into the top six.
There was no fedora for Hartley like the one Simon Stainrod famously wore after leading the Dees to that dramatic 4-3 win back in August 1992.
But for the Ibrox board it is now a matter of urgency to find a replacement to fill Warburton’s magic hat since this defeat leaves them with just one win in their last six league games.
Murty has made the step up but they need someone in for the remainder of the campaign and Alex McLeish should be waiting by his phone this morning.
Just when the Rangers fans thought things couldn’t get any worse they watched their side turn in a display lacking any fight or showing any reaction to the recent turmoil off the park.
Murty can’t be blamed for that and it is unfair to burden him with the task of leading the fight for second place.
There are fears among the Ibrox fans of a similar slide to the one when Kenny McDowall took over as caretaker boss a couple of years ago and resulted in the emergency hiring of Stuart McCall.
The pressure was on Gers before they even kicked off in Tayside after Aberdeen came from behind to beat Kilmarnock in the early game at Rugby Park.
That left the Light Blues trailing the Dons – who have a vastly superior goal difference – by six points in the battle for second place and defeat here would have been a huge dent to their hopes of finishing runners-up.
Murty has vowed to do things his own way while he’s in the hotseat and this was his first chance to make any real changes with last week’s Scottish Cup clash against Morton coming so soon after he was asked to step up.
The former Scotland defender made three changes with Philippe Senderos left out of the squad completely after his dodgy display against Ton. Captain Lee Wallace was missing through injury and Michael O’Halloran dropped down to the bench.
Rob Kiernan was drafted in for his first appearance since he was abused while watching the dismal draw against Ross County at Ibrox from the stand and Lee Hodson and Joe Garner joined him in the starting line-up.
Dundee were looking for their first win of the year and Hartley also made a trio of changes.
Kevin Gomis failed to shake off an injury and he was replaced by Julen Etxabeguren, with Kostadin Gadzhalov and Tom Hateley benched and James Vincent and Craig Wighton coming in.
The Dark Blues were looking to take full advantage of their rivals’ turmoil after narrow defeats in their two earlier meetings this season and they totally dominated.
They showed their intent straight away and carved out a chance that should have seen them take the lead.
Wighton easily skipped past Kiernan before floating in a cross for O’Hara but he sent his header wide.
It was an early warning for Rangers but they didn’t learn from it.
The home side fired themselves in front with just 13 minutes on the clock after getting down the left flank.
Henrik Ojamaa was the man who found himself in acres of his space this time and his cut-back fell to O’Hara whose shot went in off the inside of the post past Wes Foderingham.
Rangers had no answer to Dundee’s energy and after falling behind they were dealt another blow when Clint Hill went off with a head knock. Danny Wilson came on for his first appearance since the Hogmanay Old Firm defeat.
Rangers posed little threat going forward and a weak Garner header and a Kenny Miller volley into Scott Bain’s arms were their only efforts before they fell further behind.
Wilson, only on the park 11 minutes, tripped O’Hara just outside the box and Holt curled a free-kick round the wall which Foderingham got a hand to but touched in off the inside of the post.
The jeers rang out from the large travelling support who were watching the situation at the club go from bad to worse following the shambolic departure of Warburton.
At least the Dens Park DJ helped lighten their mood as Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds blared out at the interval – but it could be some time before everything’s all right at Ibrox again. Yet things did pick up after the