MIND THE GAP
Tavernier admits Celtic are a totally different animal to the one Rangers beat in last season’s Scottish Cup
JAMES TAVERNIER stood on the Hampden pitch after a Scottish Cup semi-final triumph, surveying a Celtic team on their knees. Ten months later, the roles are reversed, the rules of engagement altered. Ronny Deila is no longer a Parkhead soft touch. Brendan Rodgers has upped the ante since replacing the Norwegian.
And, for Rangers defender Tavernier, that April afternoon in the Mount Florida sunshine has become a distant, wistful memory.
‘Any team in any league like Celtic, who have only dropped two points halfway through the season, that’s been a good run,’ conceded the full-back as he reflected on the Parkhead side’s 25-point lead at the top of the Premiership.
‘If Chelsea had done that in the Premier League, people would say: “Hats off to them, they’ve done a good job”.
‘But, most definitely, our aim is to try to close that gap. The only way we can do that is by winning games and by them dropping points. All we can do is win our games.’
It sounds easy on paper. In reality, life in the top flight has proven far more difficult for Rangers than anyone envisioned.
A fifth defeat of the league campaign, to Hearts in midweek, bordered on humiliation. It posed more questions of manager Mark Warburton, his recruitment, and the mentality of the Ibrox team.
Expectations had been raised by the cup semi-final victory. That day at Hampden, Rangers could see a quicker ascent to the summit of Scottish football than even they thought possible.
In retrospect, they failed to factor in how weak Deila’s Celtic had become.
‘They have a new manager and some new players who have come in,’ shrugged Tavernier. ‘You have seen it all around the world — when new managers come in, they can boost teams. He (Rodgers) has certainly done that and they are a totally different side from when we played them last year.
‘When we went into that game at Celtic Park at the start of this season (a 5-1 defeat), we thought it would have been a little bit different.
‘But the new manager has obviously helped them massively and we just have to work harder to try to close that gap.’
A second Tynecastle defeat of the season has prompted more talk of ‘learning lessons’.
Yet Rangers stand accused of repeatedly making the same mistakes in defence. For all the criticism of Warburton’s tactical formation, a system never mistimed a jump or allowed the opposition to take a free-kick quickly. Against Hearts, Rangers repeatedly erred.
‘It was total disappointment,’ added Tavernier. ‘All the lads were disappointed, the staff are disappointed and I’m sure the fans are disappointed.
‘We obviously didn’t see that result coming, but we didn’t help ourselves conceding two sloppy goals at the start of each half.
‘Straight away, that gave their fans something to sing about and gave their players encouragement and more drive. It certainly made the game harder.
‘In the last match (a 2-0 defeat in November), it was two mistakes from me that cost us the game.
‘This one was obviously conceding an early goal in the first half, and then we didn’t get into it until around 35 minutes. We got a goal back and then Emerson (Hyndman) had a great shot saved and it could have been a different story going in at half-time.
‘But half-time was probably the best time for them to reshape as we had finally found something that could hurt them in the second half. But then, again, we concede another with a schoolboy error in the first few minutes and, again, their fans are behind them and it makes it harder.’
With all the learning Rangers claim to do, the Ibrox side really should have a collective PhD by now. Yet fans continually see the same errors from the same players.
‘We don’t deliberately mean to make mistakes,’ protested Tavernier. ‘That’s the whole learning curve of football.
‘You’re always trying to improve and be a better player and we always say we win together and lose together.
‘It’s disappointing to send the fans home unhappy and we were all devastated when we got into the dressing room after the game.
‘We’ve looked back at the game and found ways to improve ourselves.
‘Most of the time it’s not always the same mistake over and over again, so we just have to learn together and be better for it.
‘In the Motherwell game, I thought we played the best 45 minutes we’ve had all season — but obviously the flipside is going away to Tynecastle and doing what we did.’
There was only one positive for Rangers to cling to in midweek: the fact that Aberdeen lost as well.
With Celtic out of sight, the more important rival now lurks two points behind, a 1-0 defeat at Parkhead ending the Dons’ run of four consecutive victories.
‘We presume they’ll win all of their games — and we want to win every single game,’ said Tavernier.
‘We’ve got a good squad, but we’ve been hit with a few injuries. Now we have brought Emerson and Jon (Toral) in, who are great additions to the squad.
‘Ultimately, we need to set things straight on Saturday against Ross County and get the three points.
‘Halfway through the season, we now have to start winning games no matter what. The new additions have fitted in really well, so, at this time, there should be no excuses at all. We just have to press on.’