It takes a while to get used to this 24-hour demand for success
GORDON STRACHAN’S Christmas message to Rangers makes for grim reading.
The former Celtic and Scotland boss believes the Ibrox side’s disciplinary record is proof of some being out of their depth and incapable of coping with the emotional overload of being Old Firm players.
A red card count for the season so far stands at eight and Strachan insists it’s down to the shock and awe of being propelled into a club where expectations are proving too heavy a burden.
He said: “A lot of Rangers’ signings have come from non-competitive games in the reserves or teams that haven’t had to compete – never a team like Rangers. So it comes as a shock when you arrive in Glasgow.
“It takes a while to get used to this 24-hour demand for success, where you have to win everything.
“The first few months are difficult, that’s why it’s handy to have players who have been there a while. At Celtic it was useful having players to indoctrinate the new boys in what it meant to play in an Old Firm environment.
“That’s where the disciplinary issues have come from. It’s people not understanding, being thrown into Rangers from a small league or Under-23 level, and taking on the expectation of winning every game. It’s too much for them and they become too emotional. “If you’ve got 50,000 people screaming that you win every tackle, you go in there jumping about and shouting your head off, you get sent off. “For some, petulance is a problem.” There appears to be a BY GORDON PARKS last straw scenario for Steven Gerrard as the Light Blues boss suggested there needs to be a reality check after “failing miserably” to beat 10-man Dundee during a weekend draw at Dens.
Strachan, speaking in his role as a Paddy Power analyst, has backed that view. And he admits the fact the January sales won’t have clubs rushing to Ibrox is evidence of the need for new recruits despite the former Liverpool star making a host of signings when he arrived in Govan in the summer.
He said: “Steven has been criticised for talking about transfers after signing so many players in the summer but what he’s saying is true, he needs more – and you hear the same thing from other managers. Just look at Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.
“The proof is there. Who in the English Premier League would take any of Steven’s players at the moment? I don’t think there would be a rush for them.
“But for Celtic’s squad, there’d be a scramble for one or two of them.
“Every transfer is a gamble. There are players in England on £500,000 a week and they’re not successful, so there are no guarantees.
“And you have to gamble sometimes. So Steven is right – he has to keep trying to find players.
“I’m sure he’ll be looking at his youth team as well but if there’s nothing there that’ll blow you away, you have to go into the market.
“There’s only so much coaching you can do, there’s a point where players can’t improve any more so you have to look elsewhere.”
It was two more points dropped on Tayside by Rangers and Strachan points to the lack of quality in the creative department as their downfall. He says that area needs addressed even if it’s not top of the list of requirements ahead of their Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna tomorrow night.
He said: “Rangers seem better suited to European fixtures.
“The ideas that Steven and Gary McAllister have in terms of playing football is more beneficial when you’re counter-attacking. In Scotland, teams sit against you and you need people who can open them up. “That’s what Celtic have with Callum McGregor and James Forrest, someone who can beat two people. Rangers are doing all the right things, the club is trying to go in the right direction but do they have the quality of Celtic? No.
“The question for Rangers is where do they get more of that quality? It’s not easy to find and the recruitment has been less than impressive for them.”
There were some words of goodwill from Strachan who hasn’t ruled the Ibrox side out of the title race just yet.
And he welcomes the chase just as long as Celtic continue to have the edge.
He said: “It’s great to have a title race in Scotland – Rangers could win the title but I don’t think they will.
“Celtic are still by far the best squad, who have been together a long time and know what’s needed, with individual players who can win games. Celtic are at least two years ahead of Rangers just now.
“But I’m sure Steven and Gary will bring them closer and closer – as long as it’s not too close, that’s all right with me.”
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GORDON STRACHAN