We met the family of the fan who died on his way to Ibrox and it was devastating
SAYS MARK WARBURTON
FROM a distance, they were indistinguishable from the usual trickle of wide-eyed supporters fortunate enough to be granted a privileged look behind the curtains of the nerve centre.
Closer inspection revealed an altogether different reason for their journey. Cuts and bruises yet to fully heal. Bones that will take longer to mend. The burden of the one who did not make it hanging heavy on their shoulders. However deflated Mark Warburton and his players felt the day after dropping two points at home to St Johnstone, a visit from the Nith Valley Loyal Rangers Supporters Club certainly contextualised football’s true standing in life.
Earlier this month, its members’ regular trip to watch their favourites play Partick Thistle at Ibrox ended in tragedy when their bus overturned at a roundabout near Kilmarnock.
Of the 37 passengers, 18 were hospitalised. Ryan Baird, a 39-year-old from Northern Ireland, never came home.
‘It puts everything else into perspective,’ said Warburton. ‘You realise how close some of them came. Some were saying they’d sat in the seat where Ryan unfortunately was.
‘You can imagine the stories, there was one young lad who was coming to his first-ever game at Ibrox.
‘It was good to get them in and show them around — it was the least we could do.
‘Individually and as a team, we had our pictures taken with the boys. We spent some time with them and it was the right thing to do.
‘You can talk about a game of football but we met Ryan’s mum and dad and his fiancee and it was devastating. It shows this is only a game.’
As trivial as football is in comparison, no one can dispute that in its own way it is also important. For Warburton, the groans of derision heard around the four sides of the stadium at full-time on Wednesday were a timely reminder of that fact.
If only the most optimistic Rangers fan would have envisaged their side lifting the title immediately following promotion to the Premiership, four wins from ten league games at this juncture was never part of the reckoning.
Sitting fifth and already nine points behind Celtic having played one game more, Warburton’s grand plan for the club is now under scrutiny like never before.
Talk of progress and solid foundations being laid is all very well. Increasingly, though, the empirical evidence of the Premiership table is calling all of it into question.
A goodly number — Warburton estimates it to be five per cent — are now openly voicing their displeasure. Whatever the exact percentage, a failure to defeat Kilmarnock tomorrow will see it grow incrementally.
‘They are proud footballers and you have to look at the situation with the crowd,’ said Warburton.
‘They are very demanding and very expectant and rightly so.
‘They were reared on success and it’s our job to understand that.
‘I was interested to hear Davie Weir say that when he played here it was with proven internationals and it took many of them months to settle.
‘We have young players here now. I look at Josh Windass, who was playing for Accrington Stanley last season and last night he was in front of a 40,000-plus crowd.
‘It’s a huge jump for these boys. But the crowd don’t have to change. It’s up to us to recognise the responsibility and enjoy it.’
In one sense, it is hard not to sympathise with the current lot of the Rangers manager.
He is at the helm of a newly promoted club. By common consent, his budget is approximately one-third of Celtic’s.
A sober appraisal of the situation would deduce that he has little chance of usurping the Parkhead club this season.
Come hell or high water, however, at Rangers the bar is always set sky high.
‘The expectation has to always be there,’ said Warburton. ‘And we are getting used to it.
‘You guys (in the media) are steeped in it. It has taken me 18 months to understand a lot more about it. But new guys are coming in, knocking on the door, bemused by it.
‘We have got to learn that the expectation is high because the supporters have been reared on titles, cup success and European travels. ‘That is the Rangers support. We have to recognise that is where we have to get back to. What we have to do is manage the expectations in the squad and recognise what is good, what is success. In the short term and the longer term.’ The trouble, from Warburton’s perspective, is that with a few notable exceptions, not enough members of his squad yet seem au fait with the relentless demand not just to win each week but to win well.
In times gone by, a defeat to Celtic would inevitably be followed by a resounding victory — irrespective of the opposition.
Wednesday night’s draw was a far cry from the kind of angry reaction the Rangers fan base has grown accustomed to.
‘The second half wasn’t good enough,’ said Warburton. ‘Why did I say that the boos were understandable? Because it wasn’t a good second half.
‘You pay your money to be entertained and I wasn’t entertained in that second half.
‘I didn’t enjoy watching my team in the second half, so I understand the boos, absolutely.
‘But I know the vast majority of Rangers fans have been first class. They have been fantastic.
‘There have been some rogue comments in papers, or radio phone-ins, whatever it may be.
‘If the board come and speak to me that is a different proposition. Right now, we are right in the mix. If we win our next two games and are second going into the international break, is that bad for a team which has just come up?’
Increasingly, the spotlight is being shone on Dave King. The man who helped oust the previous board on a pledge of spending his children’s inheritance was not at Hampden last Sunday and is unlikely to put himself up for public scrutiny any time soon.
Warburton remains unperturbed about the low profile of a man who seemed ubiquitous as he sought the keys to the front door.
‘I haven’t seen any disquiet,’ he said. ‘Mr King is based in South Africa. That’s why we have a clear dialogue with Stewart (Robertson, MD) and Andrew (Dickson, finance director) plus we also see people like John Gilligan, Paul Murray and John Bennett all the time.’
Doubtless, the subject of the January transfer window will increasingly feature in such discussions. Those envisaging another mass recruitment programme are liable to be disappointed, though.
‘We’ll see what we need,’ said the Rangers manager. ‘What we do is have options for every position. You don’t know what’s going to happen — if a bid comes in for one of your players. You just don’t know.
‘It’s a horrible window. But you have to have targets.’
In the meantime, Warburton simply has to go with what he has. The visit of a resurgent Kilmarnock side may now be as appealing as sour milk in his tea but the Rangers manager’s trust in his squad remains unmoved.
‘I’m not worried about other teams,’ he continued. ‘If we deliver the kind of performance we can deliver, then we’ll be okay.
‘I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. But I can’t control what St Johnstone, Kilmarnock or anyone else is thinking.
‘What I can control is how we prepare for a game and our approach.’
Rangers will commemorate Remembrance at the match against Kilmarnock at Ibrox with a minute’s silence before kick-off in honour of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
It was good to get them in. It was the least we could do