Ahead of the curve? More like heading right round the U-bend

IT’S one thing attempting to strike a positive note in difficult times. Quite another to throw out soundbites that have no basis in reality.

As Celtic’s fifth goal crashed into Jak Alnwick’s net after 53 minutes on Sunday, Rangers’ progress, or more pointedly a stark lack of it, in the six years since insolvency had never been more apparent.

Brendan Rodgers’ men simply toyed with their great rivals thereafter in the way a cat does with a mouse. In those moments, the contention of Ibrox director Alastair Johnston (below) that his club were ‘ahead of the curve’ seemed beyond absurd.

Gutless on the pitch, shambolic in the boardroom and with a growing sense of mutiny among the rank and file, the fact not a single person from the playing or coaching staff felt compelled to explain or apologise for what had just transpired was in keeping with a club now mastering in the abdication of responsibility.

For former Ibrox striker Billy Dodds, what passed for a performance against Celtic was a mere by-product of a club that’s become dysfunctional from top to bottom.

‘I know what Alastair Johnston was trying to do,’ Dodds said. ‘It was an attempt to fight back and give the club some kudos by claiming that they were fighting for second place and on an upward curve.

‘But look at the circumstances and how the club is functioning. As someone who’s worked with chairmen, if everyone is on the same page then you have a better chance of succeeding.

‘But where is the chairman? Where is the manager? Oh, they’ve thrown him under a bus.

‘Where is the director of football? Where is the press officer? The club isn’t functioning properly, so they’re not ahead of the curve.

‘What they need to do is strip it all back and have a smoothrunning operation. Appoint the new manager and give him some backing.

‘But if the club isn’t running smoothly, you’ll move two steps forward and three steps back.

‘That’s what Rangers have been doing. If they had been running smoothly, they would be a comfortable second but the confusion at the club has held back the playing side.

‘When you look at the budgets of the top sides, they’re in danger of coming fourth in a two-horse race — then Johnston makes that statement.

‘If Rangers had a good press officer, they would have told him it wasn’t the right time to put that out.

‘It should have been pulled and the approach for Steven Gerrard should have been kept quiet until after the game at Parkhead. That would have been good judgment and perfect timing and they could then have given credit to Graeme Murty for what he’s done.’

Only those with a heart of stone wouldn’t feel a degree of sympathy for Murty in these dark days.

Asked in December to take the team until the end of the season, the then Development Team manager might have believed he was in a no-lose situation.

Yet, perhaps tellingly, asked recently if he could now return to his old post, he was non-committal. Lately, he has worn the look of a broken man. Frankly, you could hardly blame him if he now just wants out.

‘Give Graeme Murty a bit of credit for what he’s done,’ Dodds added. ‘He held the ship steady and played well for a while before falling away again.

‘But they haven’t even given any recognition to Graeme for the job he’s done. They’ve just said: “We’ve used you, we’ve abused you, now off you pop”.

‘I’m not saying he can’t go back to being the youth coach, but it’s going to be harder for Graeme now to go back there.

‘I couldn’t go back into that 20s role. You’re trying to help out and they just bin you?’

Murty was certainly the fall guy for the 4-0 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Andy Halliday and Daniel Candeias made their shows of dissent in full public glare. Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller made their feelings known in the dressing room.

If certain players don’t fancy a manager, that’s their prerogative. But where, at Celtic Park on Sunday, was any hint of professional pride, of players playing for the jersey and the supporters who had parted with their hardearned cash for a total noshow? Dodds added: ‘They need to look at themselves for the way they’ve played.

‘To go down the way they did in that semi-final and then go to the Rangers fans before the kick-off at Parkhead... I thought: ‘Oh, aye, they’re up for it!’ And then they go out and deliver that performance...

‘Listen, we’ve all played badly. I’ve been a player and a coach but to be part of such a onesided defeat after saluting the supporters is poor.

‘So it’s not just about the board. Obviously, if things aren’t right at the top then they won’t be right at the bottom but, as a player, you have to be disciplined and you need to make yourselves hard to beat even if Celtic do have better players just now.’

Notwithstanding the financial gulf, the structural differences between Celtic and Rangers right now are striking.

On the green half of the city, the chain of command between major shareholder, chief executive and manager is crystal clear.

On the blue half, the picture is muddied and the demarcation lines are blurred. No wonder one bad decision is compounding another.

‘Being in the game and having coached at two or three clubs, I just know how a club has to be run. You’ve got to be aligned with your chairman,’ Dodds said.

‘At Rangers, it’s not even the chairman to your manager. ‘It’s like chairman to vice-chairman or to (director) Dougie Park, and then you’re not really sure what is happening. ‘And then you come to your manager.

‘Is it your manager, or is it your director of football who is signing the players? ‘There has got to be a line of command.’