“We’re showing that fight and that when we’re under the cosh, we can stand up and put our bodies on the line as a team”
Joe Aribo hails Rangers’ spirit in win over Hibs
It has been a tumultuous 12 months for Rangers. Here, Scots man Sport looks back at how 2020 unfolded for the Ibrox club.
JANUARY
After a winter break training camp in Dubai, R angers returned to domestic action with a low-key 2- 0 win over Stranraer in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup at Ibrox.
In retrospect, the sluggish nature of their display against the League 1 strugglers was a portent of the slump in form which would see their quest for silverware sub side so tamely.
After an equally laborious 1-0 win at home to St Mirren in the Premiership, three points were dropped in a 2-1 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle to hand the initiative in the title race firmly back to Celtic.
FEBRUARY
A dismal month for Gerrard and his team which saw their hopes of Premiership glory and Scottish Cup success both shattered.
Seven points were dropped in five league games with a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock mortally wounding their title challenge.
There was succour for the Rangers support in the shape of a fine 4-2 aggregate victory over Braga in the last 32 of the Europa League. But they then turned in one of their worst performance soft he campaign to lose 1-0 to Heart sat Tynecastle in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.
MARCH
There was no re spite for Gerrard as March began with a 1- 0 defeat at home to Hamilton Accies in the Premiership, leaving them 13 points adrift of Celtic at the top of the table, albeit with a game in hand.
A 1-0 win at Ross County did little to soothe the growing sense of discontent among the Rangers supporters over their team’s post-Christmas collapse.
On March 12, in what proved to be the last match played in Scotland before football was suspended because of the coronavirus crisis, R angers were beaten 3-1 by Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie at Ibrox.
APRIL
While there was no action on the pitch, Rangers were at the forefront of making headlines off it amid the rancour and division sparked by the Scottish Professional Football League’ s handling of how to end the 2019-20 season.
The Ibrox club sought the suspension of SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster and chairman Murdoch Maclennan for their par t in the contentious voting process which called for the Premiership to be curtailed in line with the three lower divisions.
MAY
Rangers presented a dossier of evidence to the other 41 SPF L member clubs ahead of an extraordinary general meeting they called inc onjunction with Hearts and St ran ra er to seek an in dependent investigation into the governing body’s conduct. It failed to attract sufficient support, being backed by 13 clubs and opposed by 27 while two abstained.
Celtic were declared Scottish champions for a ninth consecutive season on a pointsper-game basis, having been 13 points clear of Rangers who had nine games left to play, including two Old Firm matches.
G err a rd began r es haping his squad for the 2020 -21 campaign with a host of players, including Andy Halliday, Jason Holt, Wes Foderingham and Jon Flanagan, handed free transfers. Romanian playmaker Ianis Hagi was signed on a permanent deal from Genk, having been on loan from the Belgian club since January.
JUNE
With restrictions eased after lockdown, Rangers returned to training on June 15. Goalkeeper Jon Mclaughlin and defender Calvin Bassey joined Gerrard’s squad after signing from Sunderland and Leicester City respectively.
JULY
Nigerian international defender Leon Balogun joined on a free transfer from Wigan Athletic as Rangers began their preparations for the new season with a series of impressive displays in friendly matches.
They travelled to France to compete in theVeo li a Cup in Lyon, which also featured Celtic, and claimed the trophy with victories over both Nice and the host club.
AUGUST
On the first day of the month, Rangers got their Premiership campaign off to a perfect start with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
It was the catalyst for an impressive sequence of results which established them as the early pace setters in the title race. The only blemish in August was a 0-0 draw away to Livingston.
Rangers made further investment in their squad with significant outlay for the recruitment of English forward Kemar Roofe from Anderlecht and Swiss international striker Cedric Itten from St Gallen.
SEPTEMBER
In another month of positive momentum for Gerrard and his players, they extended their unbeaten run in the Premiership to nine games with the only points dropped coming in a 2-2 draw against Hibs at Easter Road.
Their Europa League campaign began with a facile 5- 0 win against Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar, followed by an impressive 4- 0 victor y away to Dutch side Willem II.
OCTOBER
The month kicked off with a fine 2-1 win over Galatasaray in the Europa League play-off round at Ibrox, taking Rangers into the group stage for a third consecutive season.
South African midfielder Bongani Zungu joined on loan from Amiens on the final day of the extended transfer window and their title challenge gathered further strength with
three more victories, including a 2-0 win at Celtic Park.
That form was complemented by Europa League victories against Standard Liege and Lech Poznan.
NOVEMBER
It was more of the same for Rangers with three more Premiership victories to extend their lead over Celtic.
They also remained unbeate n i n t h e i r E u r o p a L e a g u e g r o u p w i t h b a c k - t o - b a c k draws against top seeds Benfica.
DECEMBER
Rangers claimed top spot in Europa League Group D with wins over Standard Liege and Lech Poznan, ensuring they were seeded in the round of 32 draw which paired them with Royal Antwerp.
B u t t h e mon t h a l s o d e l iv - ered thei r first real setba ck of the season when they suff e r e d a s h o c k 3 -2 d e f e a t a t St Mirren in the B etfred Cup quarter-final.