MURTY’S RISK MANAGEMENT
Rangers boss wants his players to rein in the cavalier approach
CHANNELLED in the correct manner, it can reinvigorate weary legs and revive a flagging spirit. No one knows for sure precisely how many points the wall of noise emanating from Ibrox has been worth to Rangers down the years. But the team would undoubtedly be much worse off without it.
Occasionally, though, such vocal support has to be treated with a degree of caution. And not every clarion call has to be answered.
As Rangers steeled themselves for the restart after Sean Goss equalised against Hibernian on Saturday, the desire among the rank and file to go for the jugular was understandable.
Still with 17 minutes to play, Graeme Murty’s men had time on their side. Yet the sound of the bugles seemed to dull their senses and within 120 seconds they were again behind.
Once Josh Windass lost his bearings, Greg Docherty was scampering to cover. If there was absolutely no excusing James Tavernier’s rashness in challenging Scott Allan, the Hibernian midfielder should never have been there in the first place.
The upshot for Rangers players momentarily playing with their hearts rather than their heads was a fifth home loss of the season.
‘You have to manage things,’ said Murty. ‘You look at where people are a threat. The first pass went back to the left-sided centre-back and he’s not a threat at that time.
‘He only became a threat because we went charging out and that allowed them to get into our final third without really doing anything spectacular.
‘It was clever and nice play, but we allowed it to happen by not maintaining our composure.
‘Everything in football is contextual and, in the context of the situation, I understand why Josh went to press the ball.
‘We’d just scored a goal and wanted to get the ball back — charge, let’s go and get it. But we lost our shape from that and got played down the side. Greg was in the wrong position and we were a bit rash.
‘James is then passed down the side when he could sit in his hole. Then Greg gets the wrong side.
‘That’s four mistakes in ten seconds. You won’t get away with that at this or any other level. You might get away with one or two and it’s a harsh lesson because in the second half we were really good.’
Murty is acutely aware that it is not plaudits that keep managers in jobs and allow teams to win titles. Quite simply, it is points.
Rarely one to gild the lily, though, he felt the analysis of his opposite number on the way the game was heading when Goss’ free-kick inched over the line was notable.
‘Neil Lennon was telling me after the game that he thought we would have gone on and won it,’ added Murty. ‘Garry Parker was the same. They were really worried and they thought we were very good in the second half.
‘Great, thanks. I said the same to them at Easter Road, but I still walked out with the points and now they have walked out with the points.
‘I’m proud of the way the players played, the same way Neil was at Easter Road. I thought we took it to them.
‘They are a good team, let’s make no bones about it. They caused us lots of problems in the second half. But the adjustments we made and the mentality we showed in the second half… if we play like that for the rest of the season then we’ll win more games than we lose.’
Rangers remain a hard team to get a handle on. Three times they have defeated Aberdeen this season. Yet, ahead of a trip to face Partick Thistle this evening, they are six points behind the Dons having played one game less.
Too many mistakes have been made for giant strides to be taken. Curiously, most of them have come at Ibrox: some 19 points have been lost there as opposed to ten on the road.
Perhaps a night away from the roar of such a demanding crowd is exactly what the doctor ordered?
‘Not really,’ insisted Murty. ‘I’m always wanting to play in front of big crowds and give myself that challenge and I’m sure the players are the same.
‘It’s just a game. We obviously want to be better at home but, any game that comes up, I’m confident we can go and deal with the situation.
‘The result on Saturday came down to ten seconds, not anything entrenched or anything deeprooted other than the fact we made four mistakes in ten seconds. That could have happened anywhere.’
Nonetheless, the loss rather killed Rangers’ growing momentum. Victories over Aberdeen, Ross County and Fraserburgh were the perfect start to the year.
Those believing that a head of steam was growing have been forced to think again. No matter how they contrived to lose on Saturday, anything less than a win tonight simply will not do.
‘It’s always a question of mentalities,’ continued Murty.
‘It’s about reactions. I’m a firm believer that the game is ten per cent what actually happens and 90 per cent how you react.
‘We all have a job to do to improve and understand ourselves so we can get better.
‘We have a positive environment around the place and we’re trying to implement a positive culture so that we move away from this fragility of one game being the best thing since sliced bread and one game being the worst thing that’s ever happened to us.
‘It hurts, don’t get me wrong. I hate to lose anything. Ask anyone who knows me, I’m the world’s sorest loser, but let’s get a bit of reality about it.’
The possibility of Kenny Miller featuring tonight for the first time since sustaining a hamstring injury in December is a timely boost.
‘Kenny is available,’ confirmed Murty. ‘We have been working closely with the medical staff to make sure he has completed the appropriate number of training sessions at the appropriate level before we put him back in.
‘He’s done that, so he is fit and available.’
Lee Wallace’s return is still some time away following hernia surgery but Jordan Rossiter managed an hour as a Rangers development team beat Valencia 1-0 in Spain.
Alfredo Morelos, the man who generated more column inches than Donald Trump last week, is expected to feature again tonight with Murty unaware of any further offers from China.
‘You tell me,’ he said. ‘As far as I am aware (there’s been nothing).’