NO HEART , NO CHARACTER
Display of players was shocking... it was like watching a testimonial instead of a semi-final
JOHN HARTSON scored eight Old Firm goals for Celtic. Between 2001 and 2006, his physical power and finishing finesse were a persistent menace to Rangers during derby combat.
He has clearly lost none of his ferocity. Assessing the Ibrox side’s feeble capitulation at Hampden on Sunday, Hartson yesterday ripped into them with every bit as much intent as he once displayed on the pitch.
The 43-year-old saw no bottle, no heart and no character within those blue jerseys. Bluntly, he believes the occasion was simply too much for a group of players lacking in the pre-requisite mental strength.
So dismal were their efforts to engage Celtic in a humiliating 4-0 defeat, Hartson insists it was more akin to watching a testimonial than a Scottish Cup semi-final.
The aftermath saw Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace — neither of whom featured — become involved in an alleged dressing-room bust-up with manager Graeme Murty. Both players have now been suspended pending further investigation.
Miller will never play for Rangers again. Only time will tell whether Wallace does.
This latest fracture in a club now in disarray may see fingers pointed at Murty and his inexperience. Hartson, though, insists blame for the weekend humiliation suffered by Rangers — and therefore, by extension, its flammable follow-up — lies solely with those who utterly failed to perform on the pitch.
‘The performance was just shocking,’ said Hartson (below). ‘The Rangers players need to go away and look at themselves.
‘You can point to decisions, the substitutions and having rows — but players have to go and play. I knew my role and responsibility in Old Firm games and what it meant to the fans.
‘It is everything to them. When you pull that blue shirt on for Rangers you are playing for the badge, you are playing for the fans, you are playing for your family. They showed nothing and they’ve got a lot to answer for. Never mind Murty.
‘It’s easy to point the blame at Graeme Murty and say he’s inexperienced and he picked the wrong team, but that’s nonsense. Don’t point the blame at Graeme Murty, it’s the players. I wouldn’t go as far to say they are not good enough but I would say they just pooed it.
‘They went out there and couldn’t deal with the crowd, couldn’t deal with the pressure — not psychologically tough enough, no character.
‘To play for Celtic or Rangers you need character. Not just on the pitch either, you need character to live in Glasgow, to be a player for either of the two clubs.
‘If you haven’t got that character, then you can’t be successful. Look at the characters Celtic have got in that squad — Moussa Dembele, Scott Brown, they have got big characters.
‘I looked at Rangers and didn’t see that. These games are generally won with your character. It’s whoever can cope on the big occasion.’
Rangers were not short on senior players. Russell Martin, Graham Dorrans and Jamie Murphy are three Scotland internationals who have earned a familiarity with high-profile games.
The latter two, like Greg Docherty, Andy Halliday and young Ross McCrorie, all grew up as supporters of the Ibrox club. Even so, Hartson saw zero appreciation of what was on the line as Celtic casually eased closer to back-to-back Trebles.
‘None of them turned up and that’s the problem,’ he continued. ‘In the team I used to play in, senior players like Lenny (Neil Lennon) would let you know in no uncertain terms.
‘And you haven’t got to be playing well to let people know. When Neil was having a nightmare himself, which wasn’t very often, he would still point the finger. That’s a good captain. That’s what senior players do. ‘There were a few out there for Rangers — but it was a mismatch at the weekend, it really was. Rangers fans have Tweeted me to say their team was dire. It could have been seven or eight. They were battered. It was embarrassing. They showed no desire, didn’t even close down. It was as if they were in awe.
‘Rangers beat Celtic a couple of years ago when Ronny Deila was the manager. They beat them on penalties but they never let Celtic settle for one second. From the first whistle they were right in their faces, up against them, showing hard work and commitment.
‘They showed everything that day and they got the result, all right it was on penalties.
‘There was none of that at the weekend. You’re sitting back and going: “Is this a testimonial?”. Celtic were bumping it to each other, no one laid a glove on Scott Brown.’
More aggression was allegedly shown by Miller and Wallace in the dressing room as they vented their feelings towards Murty. With Miller’s contract up at the end of the season, his third spell at Rangers will come to an end in unedifying circumstances.
Hartson points to some similarities with the way the Ibrox club dealt with past disciplinary issues, but feels the 38-year-old should have known where the line was.
‘I don’t know what’s happened,’ he added. ‘I don’t know if it’s been physical, if it’s verbals with Murty. But if it’s a senior player with the manager, do you expect that?
‘Shouldn’t he just be saying: “Look, can I have a word with you?”. Then it happens on Monday morning. A senior player, good player, having a private chat with the manager. Maybe it should have happened that way.
‘Listen, it could be a case of Rangers taking the easy way out. They’ve got a bit of a history of sacking players. They did it with their legend Barry Ferguson (who was fined, suspended and transferlisted after Boozegate in 2009).
‘If they’ve gone with Graeme Murty, then somebody in the board must like him. He’s obviously gone to the board of directors and the chairman and said: “Look, I want this boy out”.
‘People are saying Rangers are looking for a new manager — but Graeme Murty might be stronger there than people think.’
l John Hartson was speaking at the John Hartson Foundation annual golf day at Trump Turnberry. This event was for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. The Hartson Foundation aims to raise £1million by 2020.