THE BETFRED BLOODBATH
IBROX, TONIGHT, 7.45
GRAHAM DORRANS admitted Rangers’ big-game record is unacceptable and insists the players must put it right. Ibrox boss Pedro Caixinha questioned the mentality of his players for failing to win three games on the spin during his time in charge. The latest flop came on Sunday when Rangers went down 2-0 to Motherwell in their Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden. Dorrans is desperate to bounce back at Ibrox tonight when he comes up against his former West Brom manager Steve Clarke who takes charge of Kilmarnock for the first time. But after losing their third semi-final in a row and six out of the last seven Old Firm games Dorrans knows they must improve on the big stage. The midfielder though dismissed Scotland team-mate and ex-Rangers midfielder Charlie Adam’s claim the team needs more British players. Dorrans also rejected the notion there is a lack of on-field leaders while conceding they miss the presence of skipper Lee Wallace who is out injured and vice-captain Kenny Miller who continues to be overlooked by Caixinha. The 30-year-old said: “Unfortunately we have lost Old Firm games and cup semi-finals which is unacceptable. We haven’t done very well in big games. “Hopefully we can put that right. We need to just keep working hard and stick together. “It is difficult to put my finger on what is going wrong. But like I said we are working hard and trying to put things right in training. “I don’t think leadership’s an issue. We’ve experienced boys – myself, Bruno Alves, James Tavernier, people who have been here for a number of years now. “I don’t believe that leadership is lacking on the pitch. Lee and Kenny have been here a long time so they know what this club is all about. Obviously Lee’s injured and Kenny’s not been picked by the manager but they are still in and around the place and are trying to keep spirits high.
“People like that know what it’s all about. Maybe we do miss them a little bit. Kenny is a true professional. He’s training every day and is doing what he’s always done since I’ve known him.
“It’s not for me to go into the details of what happened. That’s for the manager to deal with whatever situation there is. What I will say is Kenny has come in every day and has trained like a true professional.
“We should still be able to cope. There’s no getting away from the fact we should be getting to cup finals and should be competing.
“Obviously on Sunday we didn’t get to the Final and there’s no getting away from the fact it wasn’t good enough.”
Stoke midfielder Adam, who had six years at Ibrox, took to social media after his old club’s Hampden defeat and said “More British players needed at Rangers ASAP.”
But Dorrans said: “There is a bit much made of that. The foreign boys know this club is renowned worldwide.
“You don’t just hear about Rangers when you’re about to sign. Everyone knows about this football club.
“People who come here from all over the world know what it means to play here. On Sunday we weren’t at it, we weren’t up to matching them and we paid the price.
“We just need players who can go out and win games. Whether they are from Portugal, Colombia, Brazil, anywhere in the world.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re British. As long as we go out and win games that’s what we need. We need winners. At the moment we’re not winners because we’re not winning games.
“It is difficult to come and play for this club. It is a massive club. Everyone knows that.
“But everyone in that dressing room knows the standards needed to play for this club. Unfortunately on Sunday we didn’t reach those standards and that is why we paid the price.”
Motherwell came under fire for their physical approach from both Caixinha and Alves but Dorrans insists Rangers should have handled it better.
During his time in England the midfielder raised his game against the big guns and says the shoe is now on the other foot.
He said: “We knew how physical it was going to be and worked on it all week. But we didn’t deal with that well enough and that is part of the reason we lost the game.
“The referee has got a job to do. It is not for me to comment on how he did. I will talk about our own performance and it wasn’t good enough.
“When you are at a club like Rangers and you come up against other sides, no disrespect to anyone, but everyone wants to be at clubs like Rangers or Celtic.
“So when you come up against the big teams you raise your game and do what you need to so. When I was at West Brom and played against Man United and Chelsea we knew we had to be physical. “If they are on their game and we are on our game they are going to win because they have better players. It’s the same at Rangers.
“When we come up against most teams they raise their game and are more physical. They try a little bit harder. I’ve been on the other side of the fence doing that as well so I know what we’re up against.”
Dorrans knows what to expect from a side managed by Clarke and said: “I know how organised he’ll have them having seen our game on Sunday.
“He will have them fired up. He’s a good manager. When he first came in at West Brom I played a few games under him then found myself out of the side but we finished eighth in the league and had a terrific season.
“It will be a very tough game. Kilmarnock have some decent players already and with the new manager coming in they will be fired up for it.” GRAHAM DORRANS From Back Page Robinson came out swinging for Pedro Caixinha and Brendan Rodgers.
Caixinha and Rodgers were united in their condemnation of Motherwell striker Ryan Bowman who left Fabio Cardoso with a broken nose after smashing an elbow into the face of the Rangers defender in Sunday’s clash.
McGlennan though adjudged Bowman’s offence was not violent conduct and as a result he’ll not be dealt with retrospectively.
For the same reason Cardoso escaped further punishment for the forearm smash that left Louis Moult needing stitches to a cut above his eye.
Moult will also be cleared to play in next month’s final after he dodged punishment for aiming a kick at Alves during the same flashpoint that will land the Rangers man in the dock.
Robinson will now have to explain his conduct at a disciplinary hearing after being sent to the stand following a bust-up with Caixinha but the Rangers boss has already been offered a one-game ban which would see him watch tonight’s Kilmarnock clash from the stand.
While Robinson insisted his players are neither thugs nor bullies Rangers hit out by accusing the SFA of applying double standards.
An unnamed spokesman said: “Rangers are shocked by this decision. In the minds of all fair-minded followers of football it will be seen as devoid of credibility and balance.
“Rangers are not seeking to make excuses for losing the match. Motherwell played to the referee’s whistle. That is their right but there were many aspects of the match which cause concern, both for player safety and the way in which we want to encourage players to play the game.
“We do not seek to personalise our criticism. The officials have to be respected, even where we might dispute the decisions. We do however have several players injured after the game – one seriously. Yet this decision has singled out only one player – a Rangers player – for punishment.
“We find this inexplicable. Are we being asked to believe just one player was guilty of violent conduct? If that is the case then it’s clear Rangers are being assessed to a different standard from others in the Scottish game.”
Alves will now be free to face Kilmarnock tonight before facing a hearing at Hampden tomorrow.
Rangers have demanded that the entire process is overhauled. The spokesman added: “We believe the current system for referring matters to disciplinary tribunals requires radical overhaul.
“It is easy for those with agendas to pick over and highlight minor incidents whilst ignoring the reality of what took place during the game as a whole.
“We do not know and will not be told who referred this matter, nor what motivated them. So much seems to turn on whether or not a referee was looking at an incident rather than on assessing what actually occurred. Incidents missed by a referee are judged to a far harsher standard than those observed by an official but called wrongly.”
Robinson though stood firmly behind Bowman and had a dig at a player he refused to name but whom Record Sport believes to be Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths.
The Well boss said: “We are not a dirty side. Ryan Bowman’s facts speak for themselves. Ryan has played 46 times for Motherwell and been booked three times.
“He’s not a dirty player. If you compare him to a likefor-like striker in a top team in the league he’s been booked double in the same period. Over the last five years that striker has had 23 bookings and Ryan’s had nine.
“He’s come in this morning absolutely distraught. But if you have only been booked nine times in a five-year period you can’t be dirty.
“I have total respect for Brendan’s opinion and Pedro’s opinion. They have very hard jobs. I won’t talk about other managers or clubs unless it’s in a positive light.
“We’ve guys with bumps and bruises and not one of them have complained in the Press.”