Further points dropped will spark weeks of fury

IN terms of cliches in football, ‘ responding in the next game’ is a very common one but not an immediate option for Rangers in the event of any dropped points against St Mirren today.

The impending World Cup break will mothball the Scottish Premiership until the middle of next month so with that in mind as well as the overall context at Ibrox just now, the stakes are higher for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his team.

Last week’s dismal result against St Johnstone diluted confidence in the manager even further, with any hopes of some momentum up to the break truly dismantled. A fraught victory was recorded in midweek against Hearts in what was a far from convincing display but the second- half spark was a welcome addition to another game in which Rangers failed to rise or shine.

The catalyst for the only goal of the game was Ryan Kent as the much- maligned winger spun and twisted to find space.

He then picked out a confident Borna Barisic – clearly buoyed by his Croatia call- up for Qatar – who squared the ball for Malik Tillman in exactly the right position. Other cameos from Scott Wright and Scott Arfield raised the energy levels, even if the collective finish to the game was not entirely comfortable for the hosts.

St Mirren will look to stifle Rangers, with their template already in place from earlier this season when they notched up an impressive 2- 0 victory over Celtic.

On that occasion in September, two goals either side of half- time for Stephen Robinson’s team earned the Buddies a deserved win, in an encounter where they forced Celtic wide as much as possible with a plan that included a congested middle of the pitch and a deep- lying defence. Same again tomorrow seems very likely.

Rangers are well aware of the type of opponent that they will face as well as what can unfold if they do not impose their quality. The first goal will be crucial with the domination of possession only relevant if it is capitalised upon as was evidenced to great effect last weekend at McDiarmid Park. Quite simply, there can be no repeat of that with Rangers needing to find an incisive edge to get the job done.

If not, five weeks of fury will unfold up until the next competitive fixture against Hibs on December 15. The Ibrox hierarchy is seemingly keeping faith in Gio, but that will only hold for so long if the results don’t improve. A seven- point gap is too much but it is not quite past the point of no return, just. Even then, the manager needs to produce a winning run that he has not been capable of so far.

Any meaningful impact will only come after this break for the World Cup but before that, the only thing that matters in

Paisley is for Rangers to leave with three points. If that does not materialise, it would represent dropped points twice in a week and a probably 9/ 10 point gap for the restart. With the downtime to follow, social media would be even more toxic than usual, the column inches and podcasts damning with no next game to quickly turn to.

The upcoming AGM will be frosty enough for the Rangers directors, never mind on the back of more dropped points and further clamour for change. The break in the domestic game will be softened by the coverage from Qatar but the void of the Glasgow goldfish bowl will still need to be filled.

Any further losses for Rangers this weekend will see it overflowing profusely.

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