USED& ABUSED

Dodds: Gers are burst from top to bottom and treatment of Murty is absolutely shameful

recent comments about Rangers being “ahead of the curve” sums up the mess.

Dodds said: “It was an attempt to give the club some kudos by claiming they were fighting for second place and on an upward curve.

“But you look at the circumstances and how the club is functioning. Where is the chairman? Where is the manager? Oh, they’ve thrown him under a bus.

“Where is the director of football? And the press officer? The club isn’t functioning properly, so they’re not ahead of the curve. They need to strip it all back. Confusion at the club has held back the playing side.

“They’re in danger of coming fourth in a two-horse race, and then Johnston makes that statement. It wasn’t the right time to put that out.

“The approach for Steven Gerrard should have been kept quiet until after the Parkhead game. The players should be more dignified but the board gave them the licence to do that [to Murty] with the statements and with what they said in them about the manager.

“They’d be thinking, ‘I’m not going to have to answer to him’. It’s the worst thing the board could have done to the boss.”

Dodds also believes the players need to take a long, hard look at themselves after shipping nine goals in two abysmal displays against Celtic.

He said: “To be part of such a one-sided defeat after saluting the supporters is poor.

“So it’s not just about the board. As a football player, you have to be disciplined and you need to make yourselves hard to beat. They need to look at themselves.”

Dodds was speaking at the inaugural Kris Boyd Charity Golf day at Trump Turnberry.

The Boyd charity aims to raise awareness of mental health and support those in need.