Sunshine Stevie so far but at Ibrox, when it rains it pours

WHEN everything was going well for Rangers a couple of weeks ago, when they were winning games, the crowd was on their side and they were getting praised, every player would been really enjoying their football.

After drawing with Spartak Moscow, losing to Aberdeen and being held by Kilmarnock, Steven Gerrard and his players are now seeing the other side of life at Ibrox and are getting a bit of criticism from the Rangers supporters.

This is when the manager will find out about his players, and his words in recent days won’t have gone unnoticed inside that dressing room.

Steven can pick the team, do the tactics and give the talk but when the players go out there, he needs them to play. It comes down to what they have got inside that jersey.

There is no doubt that the manager and Gary McAllister will be hammering that home right now and for the players that are new to the club the last week might be a steep learning curve.

Every game for Rangers is like a cup final and that is the message the manager is trying to get into the heads of the players. You can’t pick and choose when you turn up and when you perform here.

You need to have the same attitude in every game, you have to win the battle before you can win the war. At Rangers, you have to be at it week in, week out.

There are one or two players who have gone off the boil there and win the game. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

Losing the equaliser rocked us a bit and you have to give Steve Clarke credit.

For Kilmarnock, it was a fantastic result and they are a good, organised side that are where they are in the Premiership on merit. But Rangers have to find ways of breaking down teams like that, there is no doubt about it.

Someone said to me on Wednesday night that it was the same as the game at Hampden on Sunday but it wasn’t. Rangers did create chances against Killie, but they just didn’t take them.

They were unlucky a couple of times when the ball isn’t quite falling for you and that bit of fortune has maybe deserted us right now.

Rangers certainly had more of the ball and they created a number of decent chances but they couldn’t convert them and that is the most important thing. That final touch just isn’t there right now.

It is maybe a wee reality check for the players and hopefully they will realise that they need to work harder and play better if they are to get over the first real bump that they have encountered.

You are going to get lulls and dips over the course of the season and the test now for these players is to prove that they can get out of it.

The manager will know the ones who want to roll up their sleeves and do well and anyone who doesn’t will find themselves out of the picture because he does have the options in the squad to change it now. If you are not doing the business, you will find yourself out the team or squad.

The last week hasn’t been great for Rangers but there is certainly no need for the supporters to overreact here.

They just need to keep supporting the team and keep backing the players and the manager because it will turn and the performances and the results will come again.