Players are hurting and we have to ease pain
Where it all went wrong for the man who didn’t get what it meant to be Rangers boss
FOR Lee Wallace, the pain of Rangers’ recent toils has cut deep. That those failings have now resulted in Mark Warburton’s exit as manager will sharply heighten his anguish.
The Ibrox captain had been a devotee of the Englishman’s methods ever since he arrived in June 2015.
Speaking before the club revealed they accepted the resignations of Warburton, assistant David Weir and head of recruitment Frank McParland, Wallace admitted the players had to do more to try to turn their season around.
He suffered through a 4-1 hammering at the hands of former club Hearts ten days ago. His goal then rescued a draw at home to Ross County last weekend but it was hardly a cause for much celebration.
Rangers dropped to third in the Premiership after a run of just one win in their last five league games.
Celtic are a speck on the horizon, 27 points clear. That is one issue. Lagging behind Aberdeen on goal difference is perhaps more pertinent to their current aims.
That heaped pressure on Warburton’s shoulders, with the tipping point reached before tomorrow’s Scottish Cup tie against Morton at Ibrox.
Wallace knew where the focus of the scrutiny lay but laid out his belief that those in the dressing room had to look within for answers.
‘We are hurting,’ admitted Wallace.
‘Hurting at where we are. Everybody knows the gap is there and it’s one we’re disappointed in, it’s one we’re frustrated with, it’s one where we’re hurting.
‘The only way to get out of it is by working hard and by winning games.
‘Of course the last couple of games have not been great.
‘The Hearts game in particular was really poor. At the weekend (the 1-1 home draw with Ross County), it was more of a positive performance but a disappointing result and one that we can’t accept.
‘But the game on Sunday now is the next task at hand and it’s a Cup game. Morton will come wanting to silence the crowd. That is the challenge we face.
‘I speak for myself, too. I know I’ve not been at my absolute best this season. I’ve sat and I’ve thought there’s no definitive reason as to why that is. Again, I’m never looking for excuses.
‘But I’m disappointed in myself. Other guys in the dressing room may feel the same.
‘But there’s always going to be that, you’re only human — you’re going to have good form, bad form, good performances, bad performances.
‘But as a team we need to do better, not just for the manager but for ourselves, for our families, for the fans. All these things that go with what you represent.’
Wallace spoke of Rangers being in ‘great hands’ with Warburton. Yet the club’s directors, and many fans, thought otherwise.
Precisely what happens next remains to be seen. Wallace, though, is no stranger to coping with upheaval.
He stuck with the club after the administration and liquidation of 2012, leading the drive back up through the divisions.
But that was only supposed to be the start of the story.
Even before his manager’s exit, the 29-year-old admitted he was falling well short of matching his ambitions in the top flight.
‘I’ve not done it all in terms of the one thing that’s missing as far as I’m concerned — and that’s top-end Rangers silverware,’ he said.
‘That is part of my ambition and challenge. You are right to say throughout the leagues there were highs and lows on the journey back.
‘I played with top players in my first year at the club, but I’ve still not experienced what it is to win top Rangers silverware. ‘My debut was a Champions League qualifier which gave me a small taste for everything I wanted to do at Rangers.
‘It’s what I’m lacking and I’m aware of that. I’m aware I’m potentially the least well-off Rangers captain ever in terms of winning what I always refer to as Rangers silverware.
‘That is part of the challenge. I’m not going to sit here and cry about it.
‘My ambition is that we can get that back with this group of players and I’m sure we will get there.’
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“Top-end silverware is missing”